Champaign and caviar

A friend remarked to me, "Figuring out the Big Ten this year is harder than figuring out what females want."\nWhile I consider myself an expert in both fields, I have to come clean: I can't figure out the Big Ten either. Every week, it seems that some team is streaking toward the top of the standings while another stumbles like some kid walking down Kirkwood.\nThe most amusing team to get tripped up recently is Purdue, which has lost three of its last four. \nAt any rate, parity has turned the league so thoroughly upside-down that even with a 6-6 conference record, IU is still theoretically in competition for the Big Ten title.\nProvided that they win their final two home games, a win tonight would virtually assure the Hoosiers of an at-large bid to the NCAAs. While IU was able to handle the Illini at home, visiting Champaign is another matter. Even after beating Illinois by 31 at home last year, IU was not able to win at their Assembly Hall.\nHere's how the teams match up:\nJeff Newton vs. Brian Cook:\nCook is leading the Big Ten with 19.7 points per game, and has emerged as the clear favorite for Big Ten Player of the Year. But the last time he faced Newton, he was turned into a non-factor, playing 26 minutes and fouling out. Of course, in those 26 minutes, he scored 15 points.\nAdvantage: Illinois\nJames Augustine vs. George Leach:\nTo combat the height of the 6'10" Augustine, Mike Davis will have to put Leach back into the starting lineup -- or at least get him into the game real quick. This can actually work to IU's advantage. Even though he is a permanent resident in Davis' doghouse, Leach had 14 points, four blocks, and four rebounds against Iowa. In Illinois' last game against Northwestern, Augustine had six points and no boards. How does a six-foot-ten guy go an entire game without a rebound?\nAdvantage: IU\nRoger Powell vs. Tom Coverdale:\nPowell, being a small forward, has a good four inches on Coverdale. He also scored 20 against Northwestern on Saturday. Against Iowa, Coverdale returned to his old form, hitting five three-pointers. If he can hit from the outside and keep Powell away from the basket, it may become an advantage for IU, but otherwise …\nAdvantage: Illinois\nDeron Williams vs. Bracey Wright:\nThese two guys have a pretty good handle on each other -- they were high school teammates. And while Williams is good, he's no Wright.\nAdvantage: IU \nDee Brown vs. Marshall Strickland: \nThe match-up at point guard should be the most intriguing battle of the game. Provided that they both stay in school for four years, the future could hold some classic battles between these two freshmen. The fact that Brown has been starting all season gives him an edge, though.\nAdvantage: Illinois\nBench: \nIU's bench features A.J. Moye, Sean Kline, and Kyle Hornsby. Illinois can go deeper, with guard Luther Head, three-point sharpshooter Sean Harrington, and Nick Smith, a 7'2" man with a pencil-thin mustache. Also, they have a player named Nick Huge.\nAdvantage: Illinois\nCoach:\nMike Davis has led a team to the National Championship game. Bill Self was the 2000 Sporting News Coach of the Year, and he's lost one home game in his three years in Champaign.\nAdvantage: Illinois\nIntangibles: \nIU has gone six days without playing a game. Thus, there is no better time for them to pull of an upset than the present.\nAdvantage: IU