Tonight on the hardwood: Penn State beat Long Island, Wisconsin throttled Colgate and Indiana destroyed Evansville. Catch up on all the action and stats on our Big Ten scoreboard.

Last night, Ohio State handled a very good Florida team–a squad that at least one astute observer has picked to win the National Championship–with relative ease. After a slow start, the Buckeyes led by as many as 16 points before finally winning by seven. Thad Matta’s team displayed the same strengths as a season ago–namely a high effective field goal percentage and a low turnover rate–but they also showed a new wrinkle: getting to the foul line. It’s extremely early, but Ohio State now has a free throw rate of 72 FTA per 100 FGA. For some perspective, the Buckeyes only eclipsed that number twice all of last season–and both times were against the hacktastic Hoosiers. Perhaps this increase in trips to the foul line shouldn’t be surprising given the players that are being replaced:

By the time Montee Ball leaves Wisconsin, he may have a place alongside a growing list of great Badger running backs. Ball already has etched his name in the Big Ten record books. Last week, he scored three touchdowns to push his 2011 total to 27, a Big Ten single-season record. He has 23 rushing touchdowns and four via the air. Ball also has thrown a touchdown pass.

You have questions, I have answers. I dig into my mailbag to respond to some of your most vexing questions. Can Nebraska still make it to the Big Ten title game? Should the Big Ten have stripped Joe Paterno’s name from its championship game trophy, which it made official earlier this week? I answer those queries, and others, in this week’s mailbag.

Northwestern followed up their regular-season title with the Big Ten Tounament title. In the latest installment of “BTN Soccer Report,” host Kevin Egan and analyst Aron Hyde recap the tournament and highlight Northwestern’s championship run. Soccer By Ives writer John Boschini also calls in to look ahead to the NCAA Tournament. On the women’s side, Illinois beat 2010 defending NCAA Champion Notre Dame to advance to the second round. We’ll also hear from Illini coach Janet Rayfield about the win. Watch the latest webisode now and come back next week for another soccer update.