Feb. 21, 2005

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The Conference Race: Illinois (13-0) can clinch at least a share of the Big Ten Championship for the fourth straight time in five years with a win at home against Northwestern on Wednesday. The Illini are aiming for back-to-back outright titles for the first time since 1951-1952 and the 17th League Championship in school history. The last Big Ten team to win consecutive outright titles was Purdue, which finished alone atop the standings in three straight campaigns in 1994, 1995 and 1996.

Keady's Last Home Game: On Saturday, Purdue's Gene Keady will coach his final game on the Mackey Arena hardwood, better known as Keady Court since 1997, with the Minnesota Golden Gophers as his final home opponent. Keady has compiled an impressive coaching record, boasting a League-record seven Big Ten Coach of the Year honors, while also earning six national Coach of the Year accolades. He has led the Boilermakers to six Big Ten Championships (1984, 1987, 1988, 1994, 1995 and 1996) in 24 years, including three straight outright titles from 1994 to 1996. Keady (265) is also ranked only second behind former Indiana coach Bobby Knight in Big Ten victories.

The Final Stretch: With just two weeks left in the Big Ten regular season, six teams are above .500 in Conference play as Illinois leads the League contingent with a 13-0 mark. Michigan State follows in second place (10-2), while Wisconsin is 8-4 in League action. With a victory over Michigan on Sunday, Indiana (7-5) moved into fourth place, while Ohio State and Minnesota are just a half game behind the Hoosiers with matching 7-6 records. Of the top three teams, Michigan State and Wisconsin wrap up the Conference slate with two of four contests on the road. The Badgers face the toughest competition of the top three, as the combined record of their opponents is 25-20 (.556), including road tests at Michigan State and Ohio State. The Buckeyes face the toughest slate of the top six teams as their remaining opponents boast a .676 winning percentage.

Illinois' Best Start: With a 27-0 mark, Illinois is closing in on the Big Ten's best start in League history after defeating Iowa, 75-65, on Saturday to move into a tie for the third-best start in the League annals. The Fighting Illini are only five wins away from tying the record held by Indiana, which went undefeated with a 32-0 mark during the 1975-76 season. The Hoosiers are the last squad in the nation to go undefeated in a season.

More on Illinois' Record-Setting Season: With a 13-0 Conference mark, Illinois has now posted the most wins ever to start a Conference season in school history. It also marks the best start by a Big Ten squad in League play since Indiana also opened the Conference slate at 13-0 in 1993. The Illini have set a school record, posting 23 consecutive victories in Big Ten play, breaking the previous mark of 17 games set during the 1914-1915 season. It is the longest streak in Conference play since Indiana won 37 consecutive League games from December 27, 1975 to January 7, 1978 and is ranked as the third longest streak in Big Ten history. The Illini have also set the school record for consecutive victories in all games with 27 straight victories, breaking the previous mark of 25 set over parts of three seasons from 1914 through 1916.

11 League Standouts Earn NABC All-District Accolades: The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced its Division I All-District teams last week as 11 Big Ten student-athletes were recognized for their achievements on the court. Indiana's Bracey Wright, Ohio State's Terence Dials and Purdue's Carl Landry were named to the District 10's First Team. Illinois' Dee Brown, Luther Head and Deron Williams were joined by Minnesota's Vincent Grier and Wisconsin's Mike Wilkinson as First Team selections on the District 11 squad, while Michigan State's Paul Davis and Wisconsin's Alando Tucker earned Second Team accolades.  Iowa's Jeff Horner was also named to the District 12 Second Team. All 11 players are now eligible for selection to the NABC All-American Team to be announced at the end of the season.

Playing Smart Basketball: Iowa's Adam Haluska and Michigan State's Chris Hill have been selected to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team. Hill was named an Academic All-District honoree for the third straight season after earning First Team Academic All-America honors as a junior last season. To be nominated, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve and carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher. Haluska and Hill are now eligible for Academic All-America honors which will be announced in early March.

The 1,000 Point Milestone: The Big Ten's 1,000-point club added one more member last week in Michigan State's Paul Davis.  On Wednesday, Davis tallied 14 points against Minnesota to break the 1,000-point barrier before adding four points against Purdue on Saturday for his current total of 1,013 points. Davis becomes the 12th active member of the 1,000-point club, joining Illinois' Luther Head (1,218), Dee Brown (1,190) and Roger Powell (1,040), Michigan's Daniel Horton (1,033), Michigan State's Alan Anderson (1,037) and Kelvin Torbert (1,045) and Wisconsin's Sharif Chambliss (1,047). Four Conference players entered the 2004-05 campaign with more than 1,000 career points in Indiana's Bracey Wright (1,381), Michigan State's Chris Hill (1,479), Ohio State's Tony Stockman (1,450) and Wisconsin's Mike Wilkinson (1,373).