Feb. 23, 2005
Box Score
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois played Wednesday night as if it could smell a Big Ten championship -- and, even more impressively, an undefeated season.
Perhaps that explained a quick start against Northwestern, one the Wildcats could never recover from, as the Fighting Illini defeated them 84-48 in front of a packed house at Assembly Hall.
Dee Brown scored 20 points for Illinois (28-0, 14-0 Big Ten) and was 6-of-8 from three-point land (5-of-6 in the first half alone) to lead a balanced attack by the Illini starters. Four of them finished in double figures -- in addition to Brown, Roger Powell had 18, Luther Head had 14 and Deron Williams scored 13.
For Northwestern (13-13, 5-8), Mohamed Hachad came off the bench and led the way with 15 points and eight rebounds (tying a career high in that category). Vedran Vukusic, one of the Big Ten's leading scorers, had 14 points to give him his 23rd game in double figures this season.
NU entered the game ranked second in the conference in field-goal percentage (Big Ten games only), and the shooting was not that bad for the game -- the 'Cats were 40 percent. However, they were just 1-of-17 from three-point land, with the lone trey being drained late in the game by Joe Kennedy.
Illinois scored the game's first seven points and never looked back. The Fighting Illini knocked down 8-of-12 shots from beyond the arc in the opening frame, contributing greatly to its 45-22 lead at the break.
Any ideas NU had of making a game of it were quickly quelled to start the second half, as Illinois scored the first eight points of the stanza and went 6-of-11 from three-point range in the final 20 minutes.
Northwestern played the game without Mike Thompson, who was expected to suit up as he did Saturday against Penn State. Instead, the junior center did not make the trip to Champaign after his chronic foot ailment reared itself up again following Monday's practice.
Northwestern must now win two of its last three games to finish the regular season with a winning record and give itself the opportunity to receive a postseason invitation. The first of those three games comes Saturday, when the Wildcats host Michigan at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tip is set for 7 p.m.