February, in Big Ten women's basketball, is not when the postseason picture is painted. The lines are drawn piecemeal in the weeks before, but in February everything gets flushed out with vibrant color.

"February is a grating month," Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone said yesterday.

There is a traffic heap the middle of the Big Ten standings that have bottleknecked six teams with winning conference records. The snarling mess they've created will be untangled in the second half of the Big Ten schedule, coaches said yesterday.

Penn State (11-11, 4-5 Big Ten) is sitting on the edge of that .500-conferene-record plateau.

"We only have seven games left," Penn State head coach Rene Portland said. "If we're looking to do anything this year, we'll have to do that: win at home, steal on the road."

There are three Big Ten teams in the top-20 RPI rankings, which are used to supplement the selection of at-large teams in the NCAA Tournament. Only two teams, Michigan and Northwestern, are not in the top-100 RPI rankings.

Aside from No. 5 Ohio State (19-1, 8-0) and No. 10 Purdue, who have both asserted themselves at the top of the conference, teams in the middle have batted each other around.

"I think to be on the safe side, .500 inside the league for some teams relative to what they've accomplished outside the league would certainly be beneficial," Ohio State head coach Jim Foster said of getting into the NCAA Tour-

nament. "I think the league is deeper than it's been and more competitive than it's been."

Just underneath Ohio State and Purdue (19-4, 8-1) is Michigan State, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota, all of whom will face Ohio State and Purdue.

In the Big Ten, Michigan State is 6-2, Illinois is 5-3, Wisconsin is 5-4 and Minnesota 5-4.

"I feel like the conference RPI and strength of schedule is a very positive things for the Big Ten," Michigan State head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "We're all beating each other up right now. I'm very confident in the conference, I think it's just a wait and see kinda thing. I think things have to finish out before things will be clear."

No average Jolene

Yesterday on Big Ten's teleconference, much was made of Wisconsin's 5-foot-8 guard Jolene Anderson, who ranks second in conference points (17.5), 10th in rebounds per game (7.3).

"She's tough as nails ... I know she's going to be a force for Wisconsin every single year," Indiana head coach Felisha Leggette-Jack said, who told a story about her experience coaching Anderson for a team in California.

Anderson, a junior, worked hard in the paint, boxing out and grabbing at rebounds. She fought so furiously that, at one point, she was wrangled to the ground in the mix. Anderson crashed hard and jogged over to the sidelines with a surprise in her clenched fist: her teeth.

She wanted to know when she could get back in.

"I said, 'This kid is a thoroughbred,' " Leggette-Jack said.

Welcome to the Big Show

On Monday, the Buckeyes took first place in conference by beat the Boilermakers, 64-55, before 10,543 fans in West Lafayette, Ind., and the ESPN2 cameras.

"Obviously [Monday] night, we wished it could've turned out differently," Purdue head coach Sharon Versyp said. "We've got a long way to go. One game doesn't make or break your season right now."