Drew Crawford

If the vote was today, the 6-foot-5 Crawford should have dibs on Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Here's a rare twist, especially for Illini fans: a freshman who raises his scoring average during Big Ten play. That's what Crawford has done; he's gone from 10.9 points per game in the nonconference to 13.7 once he hit the prime rib of the schedule. "When he has a good game, he has a real good game," Carmody said. If there's a negative to Crawford - and this is picking on a freshman - it's that he fouls too much. The son of NBA referee Danny Crawford is averaging 3.6 fouls per conference game.

Klee