With one-third of the Big Ten season in the books, the standings are not what was expected at the beginning of the year.

As predicted, No. 5 Purdue leads the conference, winning all five of its conference matches. However, No. 16 Penn State, expected to compete with the Boilermakers for the Big Ten championship, finds itself with two conference losses and in a tie for third place with Indiana, despite beating the Hoosiers handily on Sunday.

The one thing going for the Lions is the fact that they only face the Boilermakers once this season, and that contest is at The Bryce Jordan Center.

Illinois checks in one game behind Purdue, with a 4-1 conference mark. The Fighting Illini's only loss coming at the hands of Michigan in their Big Ten opener. The Illini are coming into a tough stretch of their schedule as they face Purdue twice in two weeks.

When looking at the Big Ten scoring leaders, two names not expected appear at the top.

Iowa junior Lindsay Meder leads the conference, averaging 18.5 points per game. Lions freshman Kelly Mazzante is second on the list, scoring at 18.3 points per contest.

The reason these two are on top is easy to see when looking at the other stats. Meder leads the conference in three pointers made while Mazzante is fourth on that list. Mazzante is also fourth in three-point field goal percentage while Meder ranks eighth in that category.

These two get a chance to face each other Sunday when the Lions play the Hawkeyes.

Time for some R&R

After snapping their two-game losing streak with a victory at home, the Lions have some time to rest up before hitting the road again.

The Lions have an entire week between games, as their next contest comes Sunday at Carver Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

The rest should give the Lions time to prepare to face the Big Ten's leading scorer. The Lions are looking to break a two-game losing streak on the road after suffering defeats at Illinois and at Michigan.

Quote of the week

"I didn't see the game. I taped the game. . . . I think it's just great for the game. Connecticut's depth is phenomenal. . . . Good for Notre Dame."

—Ohio State women's basketball coach Beth Burns on Monday night's upset of undefeated No. 1 Connecticut by No. 3 Notre Dame.