Just five weeks ago, Illinois lost eight straight games in the Big Ten, a collapse that few teams in the nation could overcome. The Fighting Illini have won six of their last nine games since the losing streak and also since freshman Kendrick Nunn and Malcolm Hill were added to the starting lineup. Nunn and Hill have gotten most of the praise for the team’s resurgence. On Thursday, it was two juniors who ca ...

  In their last four games, Illinois has done something they haven’t done since 1947—hold each of their opponents to less than 50 points. On Tuesday, well, let’s just say they might have to start another streak. The Illini let up 52 points against Michigan—in the first half. The recent hot play for Illinois was extinguished by No. 12 Michigan, who shot their way to an 84-53 win. After losing 10 of 11 g ...

1. Michigan State “It’s an honor, but at the end of the day it’s not gonna be given to you. You wanna be recognized as the Big Ten player of the year at the end of the season not before you even play a game. Nothing’s gonna be given to me so I gotta go out there and play just like everybody else.”- Shooting guard Gary Harris on receiving Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year honors So wait a second, Gary Har ...

Before I get rolling on this week's games, how scary is this Nebraska program going to be next year in the Big Ten?  What they did to that Kansas State squad on Thursday shouldn't be considered legal.  Okay, enough drooling, onto the games that matter. The Big Ten will kick off their second week of conference play, with just one game between ranked teams, but a couple others with wire potential.  Iowa is th ...

The Big Ten is expected to do some very big things next year, especially the top six or seven teams in the conference. Up to six teams have been placed in some type of Top 25 for the 2010-2011 college basketball season rankings I have come across. The usual powerhouses such as Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin, and Ohio State are expected to be in the Top 25. But teams like Illinois and Minnesota have also ...