The Big Ten says it will review the child sex-abuse scandal at Penn State and reserve the right to sanction the school depending on what it finds. This would be in addition to NCAA looking into possible rules violations.

Toledo’s Tim Beckman may be the man at Illinois. According to a Thursday morning report in the Chicago Tribune, Illinois is focusing on Beckman to replace Ron Zook, who was fired after seven years in Champaign. I think Beckman would be a terrific hire. He has done a good job at Toledo, forging a 21-16 record (16-6 in the MAC) in three years and leading the school to share of the MAC West title this season. The 8-4 Rockets, 7-1 in each of the last two years in MAC action, will play Air Force in the Military Bowl this month, the second bowl under Beckman.

In basketball analyst and writer Patricia Babcock McGraw’s latest episode of her Gimme 5 audio segments for BTN.com she chats with Ohio State point guard Samantha Prahalis. Each week this season we will post an audio interview with a Big Ten Conference women’s basketball player to hear their story. Jump down in this post to read and hear more.

Earlier this week we ranked the 2011-2012 college football bowl games as a sort of TV guide for the discerning Big Ten viewer who might not be looking to watch all 35 games, Big Ten and otherwise. And before the bowls take off I’ll be previewing each of the ten Big Ten bowl games in detail, too (full college bowl schedule here).

When it comes to the Big Ten’s biggest surprises this men’s hoops season, it doesn’t get much bigger than Wisconsin’s Ben Brust. The sophomore, who managed just 45 minutes last season, was averaging 11.9 points per game entering Wednesday night’s contest against Green Bay. And on Wednesday, Brust ended the first half with a terrific buzzer-beater. Not only did the shot beat the horn, it also was from a highly difficult angle, practically behind the backboard. Watch the shot now.