OK, everybody who thought the Wisconsin men's basketball team would be 4-2 in the Big Ten and sitting in third place in the conference after its first 19 games, take a big step forward.
Not so fast, national media, local media and college basketball fans everywhere.
Nobody expected the Badgers to be 4-2 in the conference after their first six Big Ten games. Seriously, lots of people didn't even expect UW to be 2-4 after its first six Big Ten games. Badger fans and college basketball pundits from coast to coast didn't know what to expect with a team as young as UW's squad.
And really, what did anybody expect? More than half the team can't legally buy beer and the team's second-leading scorer was in high school at this time last year.
UW is succeeding because it does have some leadership in the right roles. Senior point guard Travon Davis and senior forward Charlie Wills have assumed the mantle of veteran leaders and have turned the Badgers into an unlikely success story.
UW's performance isn't the only surprise in the topsy-turvy Big Ten this season. Outside of Madison, teams like Indiana and Ohio State have been pleasant surprises while traditionally strong teams like Iowa and Michigan State have struggled at times. The Big Ten is led by Ohio State and Indiana, two teams that lost big-time players in the offseason.
All-Big Ten first-team center Ken Johnson took the Buckeyes on his shoulders last season and was an integral part to Ohio State's success. This season, point guard Brian Brown and forward Boban Savovic command the floor for the Buckeyes and have led Ohio State to a perfect 5-0 conference record so far this season.
Indiana, sitting a game behind the Buckeyes in the Big Ten standings, lost forward Kirk Haston to the NBA this past the offseason, but sophomore forward Jared Jeffries'who briefly considered leaving college after his freshman year'has come into his own as a star in the Big Ten and averages 17.4 points per game.
On the other side of the coin, two teams that had successful seasons in 2000-'01 are running into a bit of a brick wall. Michigan State, which won its fourth consecutive Big Ten title last year, started off 0-3 in the Big Ten this season and lost its first home game in three years to Wisconsin Jan. 12 at the Breslin Center.
The Spartans have a boatload of young talent but can't seem to win on the road (they're 0-6 away from home so far this season), so Head Coach Tom Izzo will need to key up his squad for the second half of the season if Michigan State wants to move up in the conference.
Not all newcomers have struggled, as freshmen forward Rick Rickert of Minnesota and UW guard Devin Harris have excelled on the court.
Despite boasting two potential All-Americans in senior guard Luke Recker and senior forward Reggie Evans, the Iowa Hawkeyes have hit a snag recently, losing to Ohio State and Indiana before dropping an embarrassing loss to perennial conference punching bag Northwestern in Evanston Jan. 19.
An impressive start to the season has petered out for the Hawkeyes, who sit at 2-4 in the Big Ten, the third-worst record in the conference. Iowa has a tough road ahead, as the Hawkeyes face Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan State on the road during the course of the season.
Who's going to win the Big Ten? Nobody knows for sure.
But there is one thing most Big Ten fans can be sure of'it's going to be fun to watch.
