Surprise team tops Big Ten

With the Big Ten season quickly approaching the halfway mark, here is a rundown of some of the conference's top stories so far.\nLeader of the pack\nThe Michigan Wolverines have seen their share of drama this year. \nShortly before the season began it was discovered that a U of M alum had paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to former members of the basketball team, including current NBA All-Star and former Fab Five power forward Chris Webber.\nThe Michigan athletic administration decided to impose its own sanctions rather than take a ruling from the NCAA and that included prohibiting the Wolverines from participating in any post-season tournaments this year.\nBecause the Wolverines were supposed to be in a rebuilding process, that shouldn't have mattered. But after the November ruling, senior forward LaVell Blanchard made it clear that the team still had plans for the season.\n"We have our goals set and in our mind," he said. "We are not going to vocalize those until later on down the line."\nSince beginning the season 0-6, the Wolverines have let their playing do the talking.\nHeading into last night's game against No.13 Illinois, Michigan (13-6, 6-0) was boasting the second longest winning streak in the country at 13 straight, and they currently hold the top spot in the Big Ten. The winning streak is Michigan's longest since the 1987-88 season and their 6-0 mark in the Big Ten represents their best start since the 1976-77 team began conference play with an 8-0 run.\nThe streak is a far cry from the struggles the Wolverines endured last year when they went 11-18 overall and 5-11 in the Big Ten and it has made them the surprise team in the conference.\n"I think we are striving to play the best that we can play and I think we still have a way to go to accomplish that for 40 minutes," second-year Head Coach Tommy Amaker said. "It's hard to look around and see what everyone else (in the conference) is doing and how they are playing. We are so engulfed and so focused on right here, and that's the way it should be."\nHawkeyes lose key contributor\nThe Iowa Hawkeyes also jumped out to a surprising start, beginning the season 10-3. \nThey won their first three conference contests, which included games against No.13 Illinois and Michigan State. But they have lost their last two games and it appears that Head Coach Steve Alford's depleted roster may finally be catching up with him.\nThe Hawkeyes began the season with only nine spots on their roster. Four players transferred and sophomore point guard Pierre Pierce has been suspended since the beginning of the season due to a sexual assault charge.\nWith so few options on the team, they needed all their pieces to stay healthy to take advantage of the limited talent they have. \nBut last Saturday against Ohio State, the Hawkeyes suffered a key loss when 6-11, 255 pound junior center Jared Reiner went down with a sprained knee. Reiner was Iowa's leading rebounder (8.8 rpg) and shot-blocker(25). He also contributed 8.1 points per game and had started in all 16 of the Hawkeyes' games.\n"Because of our lack of depth any injury for this team is magnified," Alford said after the OSU game. "It's nice that we have a week to prepare for our next game (Feb. 1 against Purdue), but once February is here we have a very busy schedule. Our other guys will have to step up to fill Jared's minutes."\nFab Freshmen\nWhile most coaches will say that experienced players are the key to a successful team, it doesn't hurt to have ultra-talented freshman either.\nThat has been the case in the Big Ten thus far, as freshmen have become go-to guys on many of the league's top teams.\nIn the three-week-old 2002-2003 Big Ten season, more freshmen (224) have already gotten the call to start than all of last year's games combined (221). About 24 percent of the league's starters this year have been rookies. \nIU guard Bracey Wright has exemplified the fact that players no longer need a lot of collegiate experience to dominate. Wright leads the Hoosiers in scoring at 18.1 points per game, has contributed 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game and has been named Big Ten Player of the Week twice.\nBefore Wright suffered an irritated nerve in his back and had to sit out four games, he broke IU's freshman record for consecutive double-figure scoring games. \n"I expect a lot from myself, so I did (expect to score a lot)," he said. " (But) I didn't expect that I would be breaking a record with consistent double figure scoring games."\nOther Big Ten freshmen who have been consistent starters and contributors for their teams are Illinois' Dee Brown (12.5 ppg, 5 apg), James Augustine (7.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg) and Deron Williams (6.2 ppg, 4.4 apg); Iowa's Jeff Horner (9.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.2 apg); Michigan's Daniel Horton (15.9 ppg, 4.4 apg); and Northwestern's T.J. Parker (12.6 ppg, 2.8 apg).\nFreshmen have taken five of the eleven Big Ten Player of the Week accolades, with Horton and Wright earning the award twice and Brown receiving the honor once.