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Team of the Week

Penn State

Talor Battle has an unusual way of celebrating. Take, for example, how the Penn State sophomore reveled in a 72-68 win at No. 13 Michigan State on Sunday, their first triumph at Breslin Center in 17 attempts. "We got home from Michigan State and he shot free throws," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said Monday. "He asked one of the managers to rebound for him." (True story. A Penn State official attested to the free throw tale.) Wait, it gets better. Though Battle is from New York, he's a huge Steelers fan, enough so that his mom nicknamed him "Bubby" after former Steelers quarterback Bubby Brister. Penn State's charter flight returned to State College at 5 p.m. EST, about an hour before the Super Bowl kickoff. So Battle, who scored 29 points in the Michigan State win but also missed four free throws, practiced his free throw shooting for an hour before sitting down to watch his beloved Steelers win their sixth Super Bowl. And that's a weekend worth celebrating.

Team of the Weak

DePaul

Indiana (0-8 Big Ten) isn't the only Midwest program in danger of going winless in conference play. With a 75-56 loss to Rutgers on Saturday, the odds of DePaul (8-14, 0-9 Big East) stealing a conference game became even slimmer. DePaul has nine Big East games remaining. Of those nine games, seven are against teams that are nationally ranked or have been this season. Four of them are against teams ranked in the top 10 (Marquette; Louisville; Pittsburgh, twice). And it doesn't figure to get better any time soon. The DePaul job isn't coveted among coaches looking to make the leap to a power conference. Sounds strange, doesn't it? But coaches don't want to deal with the seedy influences in Chicago recruiting, using an off-campus arena is a bummer and the 16-team Big East can be a career killer. So hold on, DePaul fans, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Games to Watch

1. No. 12 Purdue at Ohio State (6 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN) – Pick your poison, Illini fans: Do you want Purdue to nab a fourth Big Ten road win, or do you want Purdue coming to the Assembly Hall on Sunday after a loss? "They're showing right now why they were picked No. 1 in the Big Ten," Michigan coach John Beilein said Monday.

2. Iowa at Indiana (5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Big Ten Network) – The 11th-seeded Hoosiers will play at 4 p.m. on the Thursday of the Big Ten tournament (March 12, ESPN2). But this is Indiana's best – and, we think, its only – chance at a Big Ten win.

3. No. 19 Minnesota at No. 13 Michigan State (7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Big Ten Network) – Bruce Weber's unique Big Ten scoring system gives you a point for a road win and negates a point for a home loss. Michigan State (plus-three) is still in first place. The rest of the upper half: Purdue (plus-two), Illinois (plus-one), Minnesota (plus-one), Penn State (plus-one) and Ohio State (plus-one).

Conference Call

LEAGUE     PVS.

1. Big East     1

2. ACC     2

3. Big 12     4

4. Big Ten    3

5. Pac-10     5

6. Atlantic 10     8

7. SEC     6

8. Mountain West     7

9. Conference USA     9

10. WAC     10

Wooden Watch (Player of the Week edition)

1. Willie Warren, Oklahoma - Big 12's Rookie of the Week takes some pressure off National Player of the Year frontrunner Blake Griffin.

2. Evan Turner, Ohio State – Westchester St. Joseph product on Monday named Big Ten Player of the Week for second time this season.

3. Jerel McNeal, Marquette – There's not a guard in the country playing better than the Chicago-area product, named Big East Player of the Week for third time.

The Next Files

1. Meyers Leonard, Robinson (2010) – A regular at UI home games – and he made the Braggin' Rights trip – the 6-foot-10 center said at the Iowa game, "I just really like coming here and watching games. It's a lot of fun because they're winning. I'm looking forward to playing here."

2. D.J. Richardson, Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep (2009) – The MVP of the Monteverde (Fla.) Invitational last weekend, the 6-3 guard is expected to get a visit from the Illinois coaching staff this week.

3. Tyler Griffey, Wildwood (Mo.) Lafayette (2009) – It's Senior Night at Lafayette on Wednesday and the school's career scoring leader, a 6-8 forward, said at the Iowa game, "It hasn't set in yet, but I'm sure it will pretty soon. It's been great."

N-G Top 25

How Klee voted in this week's Associated Press poll:

1. Connecticut – Mark your calendar: wild Big East tournament is March 10-14

2. Oklahoma – We think Sooners are as close to a Final Four lock as there is

3. Duke – Blue Devils want to be placed in Greensboro (N.C.) in NCAA tourney

4. North Carolina – So do the Tar Heels

5. Louisville – New downtown arena will seat 22,000 and feature 71 suites

6. Wake Forest – To play 10-year series with Xavier: "Skip Prosser Classic"

7. Marquette – A dream matchup: this backcourt vs. Illini's 2004-05 guards

8. Pittsburgh – Steelers' Mike Tomlin, 36, is 32 years younger than Bob Knight

9. Xavier – Musketeers a No. 3 seed in Joe Lunardi's latest mock NCAA bracket

10. Clemson – Cardinals' new shortstop, Khalil Greene, played here in college

11. Texas – Football 'Horns have fourth-ranked 2009 recruiting class (Rivals.com)

12. Butler – When Brad Stevens is hired away, look for Barry Collier to take over

13. Purdue – Officials decided game against Michigan with Manny Harris ejection

14. Michigan State – PG Kalin Lucas has three assists to every turnover

15. Memphis – Saturday's tilt at Gonzaga the final game in a four-game series

16. Kansas – Former UI target Sherron Collins to be a Cousy Award candidate

17. Gonzaga – On Saturday, Zags will host ESPN's College Gameday again

18. Minnesota – Next week, ESPN's Gameday visits Big Ten (at Wisconsin)

19. UCLA – Tied with Washington atop Pac-10 standings with 7-2 record

20. Villanova – Win against Pitt should carry some weight in March

21. UNLV – Coach Lon Kruger has Rebels in first place in Mountain West

22. Dayton – Can challenge Xavier for Atlantic-10 title, dangerous in March

23. Syracuse – Annually among top three in nation in home attendance

24. Illinois – Weber on Monday: Pleased with 18 assists against Iowa

25. Utah State – WAC leader cracks Top 25 thanks to a 16-game win streak

pklee@news-gazette.com