The Big Ten Network will carry the Minnesota-Illinois game at 3 p.m. Feb. 27

Wisconsin 70, Illinois 66

After Wisconsin upset Duke in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, the Grateful Red and its fellow students rushed the court to celebrate the Challenge-clinching triumph. "Our student section is very important to your program because it represents the student body," Ryan said Monday. After Illinois upset Michigan State on Saturday, the Orange Krush hosted a delirious mosh pit at center court. "I was just amazed at how they arrived at 7:30 in the morning and kept the hype until the (game) closed," Weber said. We disagree with Dick Vitale on this one. Given the stage – ESPN College GameDay, a top-five opponent, close game, etc. – the victory was plenty court storming-worthy.

MADISON, Wis. – In a brain spasm last month, my picks as the 1-2 all-time basketball coaches in the Big Ten boiled down to Bob Knight and Tom Izzo.

You can't argue with Knight's three NCAA titles and 11 Big Ten championships. And Izzo's still-unfinished business of five Final Fours in the last 11 years and the 2000 NCAA title is extraordinary. At Breslin, the Spartans have lost 15 games in 13 years.

Sunday's crowd featured a who's who of Illinois recruiting targets, including Indianapolis junior Mike Conley Jr., sophomore E.J. Gordon and swingman Marques Johnson, a junior from Fort Wayne, Ind., and E'Twaun Moore, a sophomore guard from East Chicago, Ind.

"We talked the other night — and maybe I shouldn't have — that we're getting down to four home games, three now, for the seniors and everybody," Weber said. "Maybe you try to do too much."

The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Feb. 7, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking:

Demetri McCamey shared Big Ten Player of the Week honors with former high school teammate Evan Turner.

Team of the Week: Westchester St. Joseph

St. Joe's scored the rare double on Monday: alumni Demetri McCamey (left) and Evan Turner (right) were named Big Ten Co-Players of the Week. "I'm so selfish I hope they stay in college for 10 more years so I can see them play. I enjoy watching them play so much," longtime St. Joe's coach Gene Pingatore said Monday.

"I saw Illinois slipping down. I didn't want that. I wanted to come in here and help the program," Richardson said after Illinois beat No. 5 Michigan State 78-73. "All four freshmen, we believed in that. We knew we could get it back."

Special found its way back to the Assembly Hall on Saturday. The Orange Krush rushed the floor and Demetri McCamey leaped on the scorer's table as the final buzzer sounded.