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Men's Basketball Weekly Release - March 7
March 7, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format
Illinois Clinches Outright Big Ten Title: Illinois won its second consecutive outright Big Ten crown for the first time since 1951-52 and its fourth title in five seasons. The Illini nearly posted a perfect season, but fell at Ohio State, 65-64, on the last day of the regular season on Sunday. The Illini have now won 17 Big Ten titles to equal Ohio State for the third-highest total in League annals behind Purdue (21) and Indiana (20). Illinois claimed four crowns in a five-year span for the first time in school history and is the first Big Ten team to accomplish that feat since Michigan State claimed at least a share of four straight titles from 1998-2001. The Illini also secured the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament for the second straight year and the third time in school history. Weber First To Clinch Consecutive Crowns: Illinois' Bruce Weber became the first coach in Big Ten history to win back-to-back outright championships in his first two years at the helm. Weber led the Illini to the 2004 regular season title with a 13-3 League mark and followed with another League Championship this season with a 15-1 mark. Illinois' Best Start: Illinois' perfect season may have come to an end on Sunday, however, it will remain as one of the most memorable runs in recent history. The Illini set a school record, posting 25 consecutive victories in Big Ten play, breaking the previous mark of 17 games set during the 1914-1915 season. It was the longest streak in Conference play since Indiana won 37 consecutive League games from December 27, 1975 to January 7, 1978 and ranked as the third longest streak in Big Ten history as Ohio State was victorious in 27 straight outings from 1960-62. The Illini also set the school record for consecutive victories in all games with 29 straight victories, breaking the previous mark of 25 set over parts of three seasons from 1914 through 1916. Playing Smart Basketball: Michigan State's Chris Hill was named the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year and First-Team Academic All-American, earning first-team honors for the second straight year and Academic All-America accolades for the third straight season, having received third-team honors in 2003.The MSU senior is the first Big Ten men's basketball player to be honored in three consecutive seasons since Northwestern's Shon Morris accomplished the feat from 1986-88. To be nominated, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve and carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher. Wright Takes Big Ten Scoring Title: After averaging 18.3 points per game in Conference outings only, Indiana's Bracey Wright became the first Hoosier since Kirk Haston (2001, 20.3 ppg) to lead the Big Ten in scoring. Purdue's Carl Landry, who had topped the Big Ten in point production for the last month, fell behind Wright last weekend after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee and missing the remainder of the season. Three in a Row: Illinois' Deron Williams became only the second player in League history to lead the Big Ten in assists for three consecutive seasons. He finished in first place for the third consecutive year after averaging 6.69 assists in League games only. Michigan State's Mateen Cleaves was the first player in the Conference to rank first in assists for three straight seasons from 1998-2000. He finished his senior season as the Big Ten's all-time assists leader with 816 career dishes. Williams is only the fourth Illinois standout to lead the Conference in assists as Tony Wysinger ranked first in 1987, Bruce Douglas led the Big Ten during three different seasons (1983, 1984 and 1986) and Derek Harper was the League leader in 1982. Grand Company: After producing no more than 11 1,000-point scorers at the conclusion of the last three seasons (11 in 2002-03), the Big Ten already boasts 15 members of the 1,000-point club as two other players are within striking distance with postseason play just ahead. Michigan State leads the way with four "grand" players in Chris Hill (1,561), Kelvin Torbert (1,126), Alan Anderson (1,121) and Paul Davis (1,052), as only one other squad over the previous three seasons had featured as many as three 1,000-point producers on the same team - the 2001-02 Illinois team (Brian Cook, Frank Williams, Cory Bradford). The current Illini edition ranks just behind the Spartans with three players over the 1,000-point plateau in Dee Brown (1,250), Luther Head (1,155) and Roger Powell Jr. (1,075), as Deron Williams (995) is just five points away from joining the club. Ohio State (Tony Stockman - 1,462; Terence Dials - 1,060) and Wisconsin (Mike Wilkinson - 1,445; Sharif Chambliss - 1,060) both feature a pair of 1,000-point scorers while Iowa's Jeff Horner (1,039) could soon be joined by teammate Greg Brunner (971). The complete list of current players at above the 1,000-point plateau appears to the right. Other Conference Leaders: In other Conference game only categories, Penn State's Aaron Johnson led the League in rebounds and Minnesota's Vincent Grier finished first in steals. Indiana freshman D.J. White and Minnesota's Jeff Hagen tied atop the League rankings in blocked shots. Johnson tallied 9.2 caroms per game, while Grier led the Big Ten with 2.19 steals per outing. The last Nittany Lion to lead the pack in rebounds was Jarrett Stephens in 2000, while Travarus Bennett was the last Minnesota standout to finish first in picks in 2002. White and Hagen tied for the Conference lead with 2.12 blocks per game. White became the third Hoosier in the last four seasons to lead the pack in rejections, joining Jared Jeffries (2002) and George Leach (2003). He is also the first freshman to finish at the top of the Conference in blocks since Penn State's Calvin Booth in 1996. Hagen is the first Minnesota blocker to lead the League since Randy Breuer in 1983.
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