Jan. 16, 2006
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Alone at the Top
Through three weeks of conference play, Purdue sits alone atop the league standings at 5-0. The Boilermakers will be looking for their 10th-straight win on Thursday when they host Penn State. A win would tie the fourth-longest single-season winning streak in school history. Last season, Purdue managed only a three-game winning streak last year and never won more than two Big Ten contests consecutively. The Boilermakers have also won 13 games in 15 tries, where a year ago, they needed 22 contests to notch 13. In addition, they have yet to allow a Big Ten team to score more than 59 points, even though two of their first five games have gone to overtime. Only two (Western Michigan, DePaul) of 15 teams have scored more than 60 points on Purdue this season. Remarkably, with their four-point win at Minnesota, the Boilermakers have now won four straight games by fewer than 10 points for the first time in school history.
Four Big Ten Teams Ranked in Nation's Top 15
Four conference squads were ranked in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls this past week. Ohio State was 8th in both polls, Michigan State was ranked No. 9/12, Purdue was No. 12/11 and Minnesota was No. 17/14. With four teams ranked in the top 15, the Big Ten and the Big East had the largest representation of any conference in the country.
NCAA National Notables
Several Big Ten student-athletes and teams were nationally ranked in many categories as of Jan. 9, which are listed on page five. Penn State's Adrienne Squire ranks first (.980) in free-throw percentage, followed by Indiana's Cyndi Valentin in second at .974. Ohio State's Kim Wilburn is tied for second in steals at 4.2. OSU is also third in fouls per game (12.6) and fourth in scoring defense (50.7).
Four Games Televised Regionally This Week
Four Big Ten games are scheduled to be televised before a regional audience this week, including two on on Comcast SportsNet Chicago. CSN Chicago will air Thursday's game against Iowa and Wisconsin, as well as the Ohio State at Michigan State matchup on Sunday. In addition, Comcast Local Detroit will also carry the Sunday game. FSN North will broadcast Minnesota at Michigan on Thursday, as well as Minnesota at Iowa on Sunday. The Hawkeyes' local provider, KCRG, will also air the game.
Indiana's Valentin Sets FT Record, Ends Streak
It took her awhile to get to the line, but at the 6:59 mark of the second half at Northwestern last Thursday, Indiana's Cyndi Valentin set the NCAA Division I single-season record for consecutive free throws with 61, surpassing the previous record of 60, set by Richmond's Ginny Doyle in 1992. Valentin, a senior who is actually 78-of-82 from the line this year, also tied the all-time NCAA single-season mark, which was set by Valerie Kepner of Division III Baldwin-Wallace during the 1988-89 season.
When Valentin missed her attempt for No. 62, Doyle's record for career consecutive free throws remained intact for the time being. She hit an NCAA Division I mark of 66 from 1991-92. The all-time NCAA women's basketball career mark is 69, set by Jamie Visness in 2002-03 of Division III Concord-Moorhead.
Acuna Sets NCAA Season High for Assists
This past Sunday at Wisconsin, senior guard Maggie Acuna broke the Illinois and Kohl Center records for assists in a game, dishing 16 in the Illini's 84-54 win. The total also tied the NCAA season high and set a new Big Ten season high, while tying the third-highest total in Big Ten history. She also added five steals and six rebounds in 36 minutes of action. For the week, Acuna averaged 10.0 assists per game and 3.0 steals, racking up a 20 assists to just six turnovers.
Another Illini Star Posts Another Arena Record
In addition to Maggie Acuna's impressive performance at Wisconsin, freshman guard Lori Bjork also set several marks in the win over the Badgers. Bjork hit 5-of-6 three-pointers in the game, setting a new Kohl Center record for perimeter accuracy (.833). Her mark tied the Big Ten season high with Ohio State's Marscilla Packer, who made 5-of-6 on Jan. 1 at Purdue. Bjork and Packer, along with four other league standouts, are tied for sixth all-time in conference history for single-game percentage.
How About School Records Now?
With a pair of steals against Michigan last Sunday, Ohio State's Kim Wilburn tied Yvette Angel (1982-85) as the Buckeyes' all-time steals leader with 326. Wilburn is also just one of 11 Big Ten players to eclipse 300. Michigan's Stacey Thomas (`96-00) holds the record of 372.
Spartan's Shimek Surpasses Career Milestone
Liz Shimek collected her 1,000th rebound and 1,500th career point in MSU's win at Wisconsin on Jan. 12. She became the first player in MSU history and the eighth in Big Ten history to collect 1,000 rebounds. It also marks the first time in program history and seventh in Big Ten history that a player has scored 1,500 points and grabbed 1,000 rebounds.
And She Didn't Have a Bad December Either...
In addition to earning her fourth Big Ten Player of the Week selection of the 2005-06 season, Michigan State's Liz Shimek was honored last week as the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) National Co-Player of the Month. Shimek, who shared the award with Oklahoma's Courtney Paris, is the second Big Ten student-athlete to earn the award, which was started during the 2003-04 season. Ohio State's Jessica Davenport became the first when honored in 2005 for the month of January. Through the month of December, Shimek averaged 22.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 steals in 12 games while shooting 71.3 percent from the field. She was also named Big Ten Player of the Week twice in the month of December (Dec. 5 and 12).
Wisconsin's Anderson Posts Near Triple-Double
Wisconsin sophomore Jolene Anderson was two rebounds short of the program's first triple-double with 14 points, a personal-best 10 assists and eight boards in the Badgers' 69-63 loss at home to Michigan State this past Thursday. Currently, only one active Big Ten student-athlete has recorded a triple-double to date. Ohio State's Jessica Davenport posted her first career triple-double last year also against Michigan State.
Minnesota Crosses MSU Off List at Williams
Despite dropping an overtime contest and the conference lead to No. 12/11 Purdue on Thursday, No. 17/14 Minnesota returned to Williams Arena and ousted No. 9/12 Michigan State for its second over a top-10 team this season. Earlier in the year, the Golden Gophers defeated then-No. 9 Stanford in Minneapolis. Prior to Sunday's game against Michigan State, the Spartans entered Williams Arena as the only team Minnesota had not beaten in "The Barn" since moving back in 2002.
Last Week's Downtown Festival
This past week, several Big Ten season highs were set by teams from beyond the arc. Illinois posted 11 three-pointers against Wisconsin last Sunday, which was the third-highest total in school history and a Big Ten high for this season. The Badgers had previously tied the season high of nine on Thursday against Michigan State. Iowa also gave a run for the season high as it hit nine on Sunday at Northwestern. The Hawkeyes did establish a Big Ten season high for percentage, hitting on 9-of-13 attempts for a mark of .692. That clip was just slightly better than the Illini's average of .688 on Sunday, as they were successful on 11-of-16 shots.
Indiana Matches 2004-05 League Win Total
With its win over Northwestern on Thursday, Indiana picked up its third conference win of the season, which matches its total for Big Ten wins from 2004-05.
Illinois' Grentz Looking For No. 650 This Week
Illinois head coach Theresa Grentz is now just two victories short of becoming the eighth Division I coach to reach 650 wins for her career. Grentz, in her 32nd season overall and 11th at Illinois, has coached in 936 games and has won 69 percent of her games. Penn State's Rene Portland is already a member of the 650-win club, having now won 672 victories during her career.
Unique Double-Doubles
On four occasions this season, Big Ten student-athletes have posted double-doubles in points and assists rather than the typical points and rebounds combo. This past Thursday, Wisconsin's Jolene Anderson recorded 14 points and 10 assists against Michigan State, while teammate Janese Banks tallied 11 points and 11 assists in a road win at UW-Milwaukee on Dec. 14. Ohio State's Brandie Hoskins posted 25 points and 10 assists against Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 21, while five days later, Northwestern's A.J. Glasauer recorded 17 and 10, respectively, at Illinois-Chicago.
