• For the first time in conference history the Big Ten has nine teams in both the Associated Press and USA TODAY polls. According to @BTNStatsGuys, the Big Ten’s nine teams are the most that any conference has had in the AP poll since the Big East also had nine teams on March 7, 2011. The Big Ten’s nine teams equal the next two league leaders combined (Big 12 with five and ACC with four). No. 19/No. 22 Northwestern and No. 21/No. 24 Minnesota cracked both polls for the first time this season. In addition to the conference’s nine teams, Indiana received votes in this week’s AP poll, while Purdue received votes in this week’s USA TODAY coaches poll.
• The Big Ten recorded a 67-14 record (.872 pct.) in Division 1 non-conference play (69-14 overall), marking the highest non-conference winning percentage by any conference in the NCAA. The Big Ten leads the following conferences in non-conference winning percentage: Big 12 (49-11, .816), AAC (34-13, .723), Big East (39-14, .735), SEC (66-22, .750) and ACC (60-22, .731). According to KenPom’s rankings, which are based off of KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin metric, the Big Ten finished non-conference play with an 18-13 (.581 pct.) record against top 100 teams.
• The Big Ten boasts three of the top four scorers in the country in Iowa’s Luka Garza (1st, 28.8 ppg), Minnesota’s Marcus Carr (3rd, 24.6 ppg) and Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu (4th, 24.1 ppg). Additionally, Rutgers’ Ron Harper Jr. is tied for 7th in the NCAA with 23.4 points per game.
• No. 19/No. 22 Northwestern has jumped out to a 3-0 start in conference play for the first time since the 1967-68 season. Northwestern defeated Indiana 74-67 on Wednesday and then added to its resume on Saturday, Dec. 26 with a win over then-ranked No. 23/No. 20 Ohio State. The Wildcats’ win over the Buckeyes came just one week after they defeated then-ranked No. 4/No. 4 Michigan State, marking the first time since the 2012-13 season that the Wildcats defeated multiple ranked teams in the same week.
• No. 21/No. 24 Minnesota notched its first ranked win of the season when the Golden Gophers defeated then-ranked No. 4/No.5 Iowa 102-95 in overtime. Junior Marcus Carr scored 30 points in the win, marking his second-straight 30-point game, and has now registered over 1,000 points in his three-year collegiate career. Senior Brandon Johnson established a new program record for three-point percentage by connecting on 8-of-9 attempts (.889 pct.).
• Then-ranked No. 9/No. 9 Wisconsin and then-ranked No. 12/No. 11 Michigan State squared off in a marquee Christmas Day matchup that was televised to a national audience on FOX. The Badgers, now ranked No. 6/No. 7, moved to 8-1 with an 85-76 victory over the Spartans behind a season-high 29 points from senior G D’Mitrik Trice. The Badgers have now won 10 straight Big Ten contests dating back to the 2019-20 season, marking the program’s longest conference winning streak since a 10-game streak during the 2014-15 season.
• Illinois sophomore C Kofi Cockburn scored 15 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the team’s win over Indiana, marking his sixth double-double of the season. Cockburn’s six double-doubles are the third-most in the country this season trailing only Malachi Smith of Chattanooga and Jordan Goodwin of Saint Louis (seven each).
• Iowa currently ranks third in country in points per game (95.11), trailing only Coastal Carolina (96.14) and Gonzaga (95.14). Michigan State (22.5) and Iowa (22.0) lead the country in assists per game, while Iowa (2.30) and Northwestern (1.93) are tops in the nation in assist-turnover ratio.
2020-21 STANDINGS
Conf. Pct. Overall Pct. PF-PA Home Away Neutral Streak
Northwestern (#19/#22) 3-0 1.000 6-1 0.857 597-436 5-1 1-0 0-0 W4
Michigan (#16/#15) 2-0 1.000 7-0 1.000 574-474 6-0 1-0 0-0 W7
Wisconsin (#6/#7) 2-0 1.000 8-1 0.889 703-536 7-0 1-1 0-0 W5
Illinois (#15/#16) 3-1 0.750 7-3 0.700 873-701 5-0 2-2 0-1 W2
Rutgers (#14/#13) 2-1 0.667 6-1 0.857 564-491 5-0 1-1 0-0 L1
Purdue 2-1 0.667 7-3 0.700 725-660 5-0 0-2 2-1 W1
Minnesota (#21/#24) 1-1 0.500 8-1 0.889 762-683 8-0 0-1 0-0 W2
Iowa (#10/#11) 1-1 0.500 7-2 0.778 856-667 7-0 0-1 0-1 L1
Ohio State (#25/#20) 1-2 0.333 7-2 0.778 689-597 5-0 1-2 1-0 L1
Michigan State (#17/#18) 0-2 0.000 6-2 0.750 650-598 5-1 1-1 0-0 L2
Maryland 0-2 0.000 5-3 0.625 601-522 5-1 0-2 0-0 L1
Indiana 0-2 0.000 5-4 0.556 640-570 2-1 0-2 3-1 L2
Penn State 0-2 0.000 3-3 0.500 464-447 2-2 1-1 0-0 L2
Nebraska 0-2 0.000 4-5 0.444 693-634 4-3 0-2 0-0 L2
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