Minnesota cagers No. 2 in nation

As the Big Ten season enters the homestretch it seems the conference title can be handed to Minnesota (22-2, 11-1 Big Ten) on a Golden Gopher platter. They have been the team to beat in the Big Ten all season, and have sat atop the standings from the start of the season.

In the latest Associated Press poll, the Gophers jumped from No. 4 to No. 2 in the nation. They also moved to No. 2 in the USA Today/CNN coaches poll. Even though the chances are slim No. 1 Kansas would lose another game before the season ends, the Golden Gophers could conceivably be the nation's top team if the Wildcats falter.

If Minnesota wins the rest of its league games, it will have the school's best Big Ten record since the 1918-19 campaign. And there's more, because winning out would also mean the Golden Gophers would finish with their best overall record since the 1919 team finished 13-0.

But most importantly if they win the rest of their games it also would mean they would win their first Big Ten title under Clem Haskins. But the Golden Gophers must watch out for the ...

Even though Minnesota has dominated the Big Ten this season, Wisconsin is one of the hottest teams in the league. They are the current owners of a four-game winning streak (prior to last night's game with Penn State) and have beaten nationally ranked Michigan and Illinois as well as Purdue and Northwestern.

A big reason for the Badgers' success has been their defense. They lead the league and are second in the nation in scoring defense. Their 38 percent field-goal percentage defense is just ahead of the Big Ten record of 39.4 percent set by Michigan in 1995.

It has been quite a turnaround for the Badgers and coach Dick Bennett. Last season they finished eighth in the Big Ten and, in recent years, have lived in the bottom of the conference. But Bennett, the Mr. Fix-It of struggling basketball programs in Wisconsin, has changed that.

"It hasn't been hard (rebuilding)," he said during his weekly news conference. "I'm not saying I've had an easy go with all of the kids here, but I didn't have an easy go in Green Bay or at Stevens-Point either."

Indiana freshman point guard A.J. Guyton has been making quite a bid for freshman-of-the-year honors in the Big Ten. He was the Big Ten's player of the week after averaging 26 points per game against Penn State and Michigan.

Against the Nittany Lions he scored 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting. He also has shown a veteran's poise when the game is on the line. Against the Wolverines he hit a 3-pointer at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime.

Then, in the extra period, he hit the game-winner. Two nights ago against Purdue, Guyton scored a career-high 31 points and hit another 3-pointer in overtime that seemed as if it would force another extra period. Purdue's Chad Austin, however, hit the winning shot as time expired in the first overtime.