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Big Ten Basketball Notebook
By Randy Rosetta
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer
After falling out of the polls following back-to-back losses to Maryland and Arizona, Illinois has played with a new chip on its shoulder. That may come in handy tonight when the Illini take on next-door neighbor Missouri in St. Louis in the 26th annual Busch Braggin’ Rights game.
Illinois has reeled off six consecutive victories over Mizzou, punctuated by an 82-50 walloping last season that was the most lopsided win by either team in the series history.
This year marks the first time since 1998 that Illinois isn’t ranked going into the Missouri game and just the sixth time in 26 meetings that neither team is in the polls.
To continue the current winning streak, the Illini will rely on the extraordinary balance it has shown so far this season.
Four players are averaging double digits in scoring, paced by Warren Carter’s 14 points a game. Four other Illini are producing between 8.7-9.7 points a contest. Six different players have led Illinois in scoring this season.
Carter has been the most consistent offensive threat for Illinois. Over the last six outings, the 6-foot-9 senior is logging 17.5 points and 7.8 rebounds a game with three games of 20 points or more.
Coming off its first loss of the season (79-62 at Purdue on Dec. 9), Mizzou does have some history on its side. Since 1980 when the series moved to St. Louis, every first-year coach has won his debut -- Lon Kruger for Illinois in 1996, Quin Snyder for Missouri in 1999, Bill Self for Illinois in 2000 and Bruce Weber for the Illini in 2003. Mike Anderson is in his first year with the Tigers.
Weber is looking for his 100th Illinois win tonight. The Illini are 6.5-point favorites on WagerWeb.com.
OHIO STATE: The third-ranked Buckeyes have a huge showdown looming later this week when they travel south to face No. 4 Florida. Before then, though, OSU has a tricky home game to take care of when Iowa State visits Columbus tonight. The Buckeyes are 23.5-point favorites on WagerWeb.com, but this is the same Cyclone team that threw a major scare into Ohio State last season before falling 70-67. Buckeye freshman Greg Oden is quickly warming up and enters the game after his second double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds in OSU’s blowout win over Cincinnati. Oden has blocked 15 shots in three games and is shooting 89.5 percent (17-of-19) from the floor, anchored by a streak of 17 straight makes.
INDIANA: The Hoosiers snagged a gritty 57-47 triumph over Missouri Valley Conference up-and-comer Southern Illinois on Sunday, their first noteworthy victory this season after tough-to-swallow road losses against Duke (54-51) and Kentucky (54-49). IU is winning with defense, leading the Big Ten in 3-point field-goal defense (27.3 percent) and ranking third in overall field-goal defense (38.8 percent). Indiana has struggled to generate consistent offense, but D.J. White has begun to emerge from his missed season, leading the Hoosiers with 13.2 points and 7.4 rebounds a game. He is also the Big Ten’s top shot blocker with 2.3 rejections a game. IU gets another chance to record a win against a solid mid-major program when Western Kentucky visits Bloomington on Wednesday.
MICHIGAN STATE: The Spartans survived a tough tussle with Chicago State on Saturday, claiming a 69-61 decision for their fourth win in a row. Junior guard Drew Neitzel hung up a career-high 32 points, hitting six 3-pointers and going 10-for-10 from the foul stripe. Neitzel has made more 3s (39) than anyone in the Big Ten and ranks second in the league in free-throw accuracy at 90.2 percent (46-of-51).
WISCONSIN: The Badgers recorded one of the biggest non-conference wins in their history Saturday when they knocked off No. 2 Pittsburgh 89-75, and senior Alando Tucker was a major reason why. Tucker was named the Big Ten Player of the Week after torching the Panthers for a season-best 32 points. He hit 10-of-17 field goals and also yanked down 10 rebounds. Wisconsin beat its highest-ranked foe since 1997 when it edged second-ranked Minnesota 68-65. Tucker, the league’s leading scorer at 21.2 points per game, also produced 20 points earlier last week against Wisconsin-Milwaukee and has scored 20 or more in four straight games.
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