Iowa Coach Vivian Stringer didn't particularly want the nation's No. 1 ranking. However, after Tennessee lost its first game of the season to Rutgers, the Hawkeyes (11-1, 4-1) were slated to assume the top ranking.

"It's not something we've been shooting at. We are just trying to be the best basketball team we are capable of being," she said last week. "Obviously everyone will be playing us tough. If you can't get up for No. 1, who can you get up for?"

Stringer need not worry any longer. The question was answered by Indiana Coach Jim Izard and his Hoosiers (11-3, 2-3), on Friday night when they shocked the Hawkeyes at Assembly Hall, 82-58.

"As far as the motivational factor, anytime you play a team that's going to be ranked No. 1 in the country on Monday, if you play them on Friday, you're going to key up for that," Izard said. "We felt like we could play with Iowa.

"We knew that they were a post-oriented team. We were hoping that we could leave some people open and be able to guard inside and we felt we could run on them and get transition shots and from three-point range," Izard added.

Indiana was able to do that, converting eight three-pointers, including four consecutive treys late in the first half that rallied the Hoosiers from an eight-point deficit to a one-point lead.

"We always have trouble in Assembly Hall," Stringer said prior to the Iowa-Indiana matchup. "It's always very quiet there -- you can hear yourself talk."

And the Hall roared with excitement after Friday's victory, a major surprise considering the Hoosiers were unranked and were coming off consecutive 30-point road losses to Ohio State (114, 4-1) and Penn State (13-0, 5-0).

But Indiana fans were quieted by the spectacular performace of Minnesota star Carol Ann Shudlick, who guided the Golden Gophers (9-5, 23) to a 73-68 victory at Assembly Hall on Sunday.

Shudlick poured in an Assembly Hall-record 38 points on 14-of-16 field goal shooting and 10-of-12 free throw shooting in Minnesota's victory on Sunday. A 6-foot senior forward/center, Shudlick is leading the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 25.5 points per game.

"She's just a super player," Izard said of the All-America candidate. "If she's not one of the best players in America, I'd sure hate to see the ones who are better than her."

No. 13 Purdue (13-3, 4-1) at No. 19 Northwestern (9-3, 2-2) on Friday. The Boilermakers visit Evanston, Ill., and face the Wildcats, who are in the midst of a two-game winning streak. A 78-70 win over Illinois on Friday was followed by a 101-85 victory at Wisconsin on Sunday.

"It's a real challenge for us to come up there to Northwestern because they have such a fine team," Purdue Coach Lin Dunn said. "I think the fact that they have such great three-point shooters is a real difficult task to deal with."

The Wildcats have a balanced attack, though. In the victory over the Badgers, five Northwestern players scored in double figures. The five starters accounted for all but four of the team's 101 points on 47 percent field-goal shooting and snared a combined 44 rebounds.

But don't expect Northwestern to dominate the paint against Purdue. The Boilermakers feature freshman sensation Leslie Johnson, averaging 18.9 points and 9.1 rebounds while leading the conference with a .623 field-goal percentage.