There aren't many coaches in any Big Ten sport that don't constantly refrain to his players and the media that any team in the conference can beat any other team in the conference on any given day.

Anyone who ignores that as coach-speak needs only to look at this weekend's Big Ten basketball results to change his outlook. Both of the conference's ranked opponents were upset, as well as Iowa, not ranked in the Associated Press poll, but No. 24 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. Then- No. 20 Ohio State lost its first conference game of the season to Minnesota 89-71, and No. 9 Illinois got humiliated at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind., by the Hoosiers 88-57. Just after a hard-fought victory over Michigan State, Iowa fell back on hard times with a 73-68 loss at Purdue.

The Buckeyes' loss puts them back in a tie with Indiana for first place with a 6-1 record. They beat the Hoosiers at home last week, but they face a huge matchup tonight against No. 12 Illinois, a team that at 4-3 in the conference needs a win to get back in the race. After playing the Hoosiers, the Fighting Illini have a tough game Sunday against a Michigan State team still trying to get back in the race. The Hoosiers are forced to face both of the other two teams that pulled upsets this week, facing rival Purdue at home tomorrow, before travelling to Minnesota on Saturday.

They will try to avoid a letdown after the blowout of the Illini. Coach Mike Davis doesn't see that letdown happening.

"I don't think we can afford to have a letdown," he said.

"I've been concentrating on telling my guys that we can't afford to have a letdown. A lot of people thought we'd have a letdown against Penn State before the Illinois game, and that was proved wrong."

Perfect Game

After dominating Penn State Wednesday night with 22 points and 13 boards and helping Indiana crush Illinois with 13 points and 11 rebounds, it was no surprise to see Hoosier forward Jared Jeffries get his third Big Ten Player of the Week award.

However this week, Jeffries has company. Minnesota senior guard Travarus Bennett got his hands on the award for the first time in his career, scoring 21 points while making all six of his field goals including three three-pointers, and all six of his free throws. "I haven't had a player that deserving of a victory as Travarus was against Ohio State," Minnesota coach Dan Monson said. "Not missing a shot, leading us in rebounding and being our best defender was very key."

The Golden Gophers' upset win gets them back in the conference race, tying them with Illinois at 4-3 for fourth place in the conference, leaving them just a one-half game behind Wisconsin (5-3).

Badgers Surprising

All of the upsets leave Wisconsin in a nice spot at 5-3 in third place in the conference. Despite losing four seniors, the Badgers have become one of the most surprising teams in the Big Ten, boasting quality victories over Illinois, Michigan State and Minnesota. However, first-year coach Bo Ryan knows there is a lot of season left to go.

"Schedule has a lot to do with where you sit. We've taken advantage of some breaks and been able to hold on. To be sitting at 5-3 is nice, but we have a lot of work to do to be 5-3 or better in the second half."