Illini vs The Big Ten: All-Time Records

People like lists. Almost as much as they like facts and numbers. But not nearly as much as they like conjecture. A fun thing to think about is where the Illini stand in comparison to the other teams of our glorious and much-beloved Big Ten. How many teams do we have losing records to? It can't be many, right? How dominant have we been against teams that rarely do much, like Iowa or Northwestern? Well I have this nifty media guide now and plan on using it for fun like this on days when I get bored. Did you know we're 7-0 against Hawaii? FUN FACTS!

Lopsided in our favor:

Iowa:

• W-L: 81-67
• Longest winning streak: 7, 3-1-08 through 2-26-12
• Longest losing streak: 6, 1-4-75 through 3-24-77

I honestly expected things to be a little more one-sided in this one and if not for Bruce Weber's 13-3 record against the Hawkeye's, they'd be in a different section.

Minnesota:

• W-L: 116-63
• Longest winning streak: 20, 3-4-99 through 3-15-08
• Longest losing streak: 9, 2-27-71 through 2-2-76

We were one loss on January 29th, 2009 away from going an entire decade without losing a game to the Golden Gophers. That's pretty damn incredible, right?

Nebraska:

• W-L: 8-3
• Longest winning streak: 7, 1-3-21 through 12-11-76
• Longest losing streak: 1, three separate times

It's weird including Nebraska since we've hardly played them, but at least we've played them more than we have Rutgers (1-1) and Maryland (4-5). The record shouldn't be surprising, but it should be better if not for that incredibly disappointing end of the season loss to an awful Cornhusker squad last February.

Northwestern:

• W-L: 129-37
• Longest winning streak: 16, twice
• Longest losing streak: 3, twice

And that is just plain beautiful. 129-37! We go on a nice little run over the next few seasons and we can literally have 100 more wins over the Wildcats. Don't act like you don't want that. It will take a while to match either of the 16 game winning streaks, but I sincerely doubt Northwestern gets a chance to tie their series' high any time soon either.

Ohio State:

• W-L: 104-70
• Longest winning streak: 12, 1-21-50 through 2-11-56
• Longest losing streak: 7, 2-19-77 through 2-16-80

This one was even more in our favor before Thad Matta moved to Columbus. We're 5-9 against his Buckeye squads and currently mired in one of our worst stretches against OSU in team history. Hopefully this last Saturday's win becomes the norm and John Groce knows how to take down his old mentor.

Penn State:

• W-L: 24-13
• Longest winning streak: 6, 2-20-02 through 2-16-05
• Longest losing streak: 3, 3-21-42 through 11-25-91

Not much to say about this one. Not really too lopsided, but the Nittany Lions have never had a strong run against us and aren't likely to any time soon.

Wisconsin:

• W-L: 110-77
• Longest winning streak: 16, 2-12-81 through 1-12-89
• Longest losing streak: 6, 1-14-12 through 2-20-14

Who thought we would have essentially the same record against Wisconsin as we do against Ohio State? Or that the Badgers and Buckeyes would both be firmly in the category of teams we've historically stomped? Not people around my age. This is another match-up that has become considerably less one-sided since the current head coach stepped in. Bo Ryan's methodically hideous style of play has been effective as both an Illini-stopper and an emetic.

Close but in our favor

Michigan:

• W-L: 85-74
• Longest winning streak: 11, 2-9-00 through 1-14-06
• Longest losing streak: 9, 1-18-92 through 1-9-96

This one might belong in the more lopsided category, but Michigan is strong enough right now that I'd probably have to move them to this grouping soon enough anyways. We're currently on a three game skid against the Wolverines that will probably get longer before it ends.

Michigan State:

• W-L: 56-55
• Longest winning streak: 7, 1-5-87 through 1-18-90
• Longest losing streak: 10, 1-14-74 through 2-25-78

We're now officially in the range of opponents that have given us fits over the years. This is a series defined by runs for the most part, with the occasional smattering of even splits throughout the years.

Close but in their favor

Indiana:

• W-L: 83-84
• Longest winning streak: 8, 2-23-12 through 1-13-23
• Longest losing streak: 9, 2-22-72 through 1-8-77

I didn't expect this one to be as close as it is. You grow up hearing about the myth and legend that was Bobby Knight and you expect to see a lot more losses to the Hoosiers than only being down one. This exercise is just full of surprises. But none more surprising than the next one.

Lopsided in their favor

Purdue:

• W-L: 84-96
• Longest winning streak: 11, 1-9-50 through 2-20-56
• Longest losing streak: 13, 2-25-67 through 2-15-75

Seriously? Our worst record in the Big Ten is against the freaking Boilermakers? I don't even know how to feel about this. Before our current eight game skid against Purdue, this was more like the record against Indiana. We need to rectify this abomination right quick.

So what did we learn from this? We should hate the state of Indiana, be wary of the state of Michigan, and generally feel free to laugh at/mock every other state in the Big Ten but none more so than those unlucky schlubs in the suburb of Evanston.