Numbers Don't Lie: 5 Big Ten stats you should know -- Dec. 27

Key Big Ten numbers to know, including Purdue and Northwestern freshman heating up, Big Ten teams lighting up the scoreboard and an Indiana player becoming the perfect thief.

By Dave Carey

Dec 27, 2012 at 10:47 am ET • 1 min read

Northwestern G Tre Demps is averaging 12 points over his past four games. (US Presswire)

The Big Ten has seven games on tap for Saturday. Here are five key numbers to focus on during the action this weekend.

1. 788: Combined winning percentage for Big Ten teams entering the final full weekend of nonconference play. Teams are a combined 115-31.

2. 73.2: Average points per game for teams in the Big Ten, trailing only the Big East (73.7 ppg). The league has five teams ranked in the top 50 nationally in scoring, including No. 1 Indiana (89.1 points per game), No. 20 Michigan (79.4), No. 35 Ohio State (77.5), No. 41 Iowa (76.9) and No. 45 Illinois (76.6).

3. 2.6: Big Ten-leading steals per game for Indiana F Victor Oladipo. The junior has three or more steals in eight of 12 games this season. Oladipo also leads the league in field-goal percentage (.670).

4. 8.7: Points per game for Purdue starting freshman G Ronnie Johnson. The 6-foot, 170-pounder appears to be slowly putting it together as he has cracked double figures in scoring five of the past six games. The key? He has stopped jacking 3-pointers and is attacking the rim. Now, he must focus on his free-throw shooting (.652 percent).

5. 9: 3-pointers the past four games for Northwestern freshman G Tre Demps. The bench player has seen a huge boost in his minutes since star G Drew Crawford went down for the season with a shoulder injury. Demps is averaging 12 points per game during his 3-point shooting spree. He averaged just 2.1 points the previous nine games.

For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Big Ten bloggers Dave Carey and Mike Singer, follow @CBSSportsBigTen.