Read Jim Rossow's Q&A with Dan Dakich here.

Sports editor Jim Rossow takes a look around the world of Big Ten basketball:

The Standings

Big Ten     Overall

                            W L     W L

Michigan State 10 2     20 4

Illinois 8 4     20 5

Ohio State 7 4     17 5

Purdue 7 4     18 6

Minnesota 7 5     19 5

Penn State 6 6     17 8

Wisconsin 6 6     15 9

Michigan 5 7     15 10

Northwestern 4 7     13 9

Iowa 3 9     13 12

Indiana 1 10     6 17

 

The Schedule

Want to know which of this week's games are worth your time? Here's the scoop from sports editor Jim Rossow, who is racking up Obama-like approval ratings after an 11-0 week upped his record to 50-10:

TODAY

Minnesota at Penn State, 12:30 p.m., Big Ten Network

Gophers have won eight straight against Nittany Lions, including three in a row at State College.

Rossow's pick: Penn State, 59-55

No. 20 Purdue at Iowa, 3 p.m., Big Ten Network

Hawkeyes hurting: Jeff Peterson (hamstring) out, Cyrus Tate (ankle) a maybe.

Rossow's pick: Purdue, 68-59

No. 24 Ohio State at Wisconsin, 8 p.m., ESPN

Wisconsin is one of eight schools picked to host ESPN's "College GameDay," joining North Carolina, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Gonzaga, Texas, Cal and West Virginia.

Rossow's pick: Wisconsin, 64-58

SUNDAY

No. 22 Illinois at Indiana, Noon, WCIA (CBS)

Champaign's Verdell Jones has led the Hoosiers in scoring in back-to-back games.

Rossow's pick: Illinois, 71-64

Michigan at Northwestern, 2 p.m., Big Ten Network

Manny Harris needs 56 points to become the fifth Michigan sophomore to reach 1,000 points in a career.

Rossow's pick: Northwestern, 70-59

TUESDAY

No. 9 Michigan State, at No. 20 Purdue, 6 p.m., ESPN

Travis Walton sixth player in Spartans history to reach 500 assists.

Rossow's pick: Michigan State, 75-74

WEDNESDAY

Penn State at No. 22 Illinois, 6 p.m., Big Ten Network

Illini are 127-16 (88.8) at the Assembly Hall in the last nine-plus seasons and 75-14 (83.4) under Bruce Weber.

Rossow's pick: Illinois, 68-61

No. 24 Ohio State, at Northwestern, 8 p.m., Big Ten Network

End of a three-game homestand for the Wildcats, who have led or been tied at halftime in six of their 11 Big Ten games.

Rossow's pick: Ohio State, 64-58

THURSDAY

Minnesota at Michigan, 6 p.m., Big Ten Network

Al Nolen needs 34 assists to crack the all-time Top 10 list at Minnesota – and he's only a sophomore.

Rossow's pick: Michigan, 70-60

Indiana at Wisconsin, 8 p.m., ESPN

Last time out, freshmen played 169 of 200 combined minutes for the Hoosiers.

Rossow's pick: Wisconsin, 70-51

 

Rossow's Random Thoughts

20-20 VISION: Raise your hand if you thought Illinois would return to 20-win territory. Congratulations – all two of you. As noteworthy as the performance of this season's Surprisin' Illini is this nugget of news: It's the ninth time in 10 seasons that Illinois has reached 20 wins. That stretch of success is better than any other Big Ten team, even Michigan State (which won 19 games in '01 and 18 in '04). There's a reason Illinois is a basketball school.

TITLE TALK: Of the four teams with a chance to win a Big Ten title, I like the Illini's schedule best. But I see them catching Michigan State only if 1) they win two of their three road games, 2) finish 9-0 in Big Ten home games and 3) the Spartans get swept by Purdue. That combination might be asking too much. A consolation prize, however, would be a No. 2 seed at the Big Ten tournament. And No. 2s have the best winning percentage (75.0) of any seed in tourney history.

GYM DANDY: The place is a dump. It's dark, cramped and wouldn't rank among the top 10 high school gyms in Indiana. That's why Welsh-Ryan Arena is one of my favorite Big Ten stops. I wasn't there Thursday but can vouch for the wonderful atmosphere during Illinois-Northwestern matchups. It might not have comfortable seats, fancy locker rooms or sushi at the concessions stand, but the gym – like Northwestern's offense – definitely is unique.

 

Temperature Check

WHO'S HOT

ORANGE KRUSH

The UI's energetic student group is traveling again as evidenced by Thursday's turnout at Northwestern. Plus, the kids are in line for some serious national exposure. For the Purdue game, Mattoon native, Illinois grad and national writer Will Leitch embedded himself in the Krush for a story that will appear in Sporting News in late February.

HAWKEYES AT HOME ON THE WEEKENDS

They're 3-0 on Saturdays at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and 2-0 on Fridays. After last week's home win against Northwestern – Iowa's first weekend game at home in more than a month – players mingled with students. "It was a show of appreciation," coach Todd Lickliter said. "Our players realized the support that they had received and wanted to say thank you."

MICHIGAN STATE ON THE ROAD

Spartans are 7-0 in true road games, joining Connecticut and Utah State as the only undefeated Division I teams on opponents' homecourts. They're 6-0 in the Big Ten and a win away from matching their school record set in 1978, Magic Johnson's freshman season, and 1999, when they won their second of four consecutive conference titles.

WHO'S WARM

INDIANA FANS

Sure, the Hoosiers had to offer discounted prices. But they managed to sell out Sunday's game against Illinois, their second packed house in the last three home games. "It never ceases to amaze me what kind of support we get at Indiana," coach Tom Crean said.

B.J. MULLENS

Just think of the numbers he'd put up if he got to play more minutes. The impressive center has the best field goal percentage of any freshman in school history – better than Greg Oden and Terence Dials – and leads the Big Ten in shooting. Plus, he has a chance to set an Ohio State record for blocked shots by a rookie. But Mullens ranks seventh on the Buckeyes in minutes played, averaging 20.3.

DANNY MORRISSEY

Sharp shooter has reached double figures once in his last nine games, but he still is a difference-maker in the classroom. The only Big Ten player to earn ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District first-team honors, the guard is working on his second degree in labor and industrial relations management and posted a 3.34 grade-point average last semester.

WHO'S COLD

NORTHWESTERN

It was 50 years ago the Wildcats finished 15-7 under coach William Rohr. They've finished with at least 10 losses every season since – a streak that will continue with the next defeat.

MANNY HARRIS

Michigan guard and Michigan State's Kalin Lucas were the only two from the Big Ten to make the 30-player midseason cut for the Wooden Award. Harris marked the occasion by missing 8 of 10 shots and finishing with seven points in an ugly loss to Michigan State. Maybe he's not ready for the NBA after all.

IOWA ON THE ROAD

The Hawkeyes have dropped nine in a row, including all seven Big Ten trips.

 

Gimme Fives

This week's rankings, courtesy sports editor Jim Rossow

Big Ten MVP

PLAYER     PREVIOUS

1. Evan Turner, Ohio State     3

2. Kalin Lucas, Michigan St.     2

3. Demetri McCamey, Illinois     –

4. Talor Battle, Penn State     1

5. JaJuan Johnson, Purdue     –

Illinois MVP

ILLINI     PREVIOUS

1. Demetri McCamey     3

2. Chester Frazier     1

3. Mike Davis     4

4. Mike Tisdale    5

5. Trent Meacham    –

Coach of the Year

COACH     PREVIOUS

1. Bruce Weber, Illinois     2

2. Thad Matta, Ohio State     3

3. Ed DeChellis, Penn State     1

4. Tubby Smith, Minnesota     4

5. Matt Painter, Purdue     –

All-International Team

FOREIGNER    COUNTRY

Goran Suton, Mich. St.     Bosnia

Devoe Joseph, Minn.     Canada

Luka Mirkovic, N'western     Serbia

Nemanja Calasan, Purdue     Bosnia

Jevohn Shepherd, Mich.     Canada