No. 1 Illini Rout Northwestern in Big Ten

Posted 5:07PM on Friday 11th March 2005 ( 20 years ago )

CHICAGO (AP) -- Illinois rebounded from its first loss of the season with a 68-51 rout of Northwestern in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament Friday. James Augustine led three players in double figures with 15, and Deron Williams had eight assists and eight points, including a spectacular layin midway through the second half. Luther Head had 14 points and Roger Powell Jr. added 11. Big Ten player of the year Dee Brown had five points and six assists. The game was so out of hand coach Bruce Weber started pulling his starters with more than five minutes left to play, much to the delight of a United Center that was awash in orange. It was the 12th straight victory at the United Center for the Illini. They're 25-6 here since the arena opened during the 1994-95 season. Illinois (30-1) now plays the winner of the Minnesota-Indiana game in Saturday's semifinals. Mohamed Hachad led the Wildcats (15-16) with a career-high 23 points, but it wasn't nearly enough. The loss ended Northwestern's chances of an NIT bid. Before a loss to Ohio State on Sunday, the Illini were trying to become the first team to go through an entire season undefeated since Indiana in 1975-76, and their 29-0 start was the best since UNLV in 1991. The Runnin' Rebels went 34-0 before losing to Duke in the NCAA semifinals. Illinois was on the verge of completing the first perfect Big Ten season since those '76 Hoosiers, leading Ohio State all day Sunday. But with 6 seconds left, Matt Sylvester drained a 3-pointer, stunning the Illini and handing them their first loss. While the loss didn't cost Illinois its No. 1 ranking, and it's still virtually guaranteed of being a top seed in the NCAA tournament, it still stung. The Illini knew they'd had doubters all along, and they were itching to answer them with a good show in Chicago. Consider it done. The Illini had assists on 20 of its 25 baskets, including an impressive display by Brown and Williams on that layin. With about nine minutes to play, Williams fed Brown on the fast break. Brown then bounced the ball off the backboard, and Williams dropped it in. The crowd oohed and aahed, and even the Illinois bench looked a bit awed. The Illini got off to a slow start, missing their first two shots and turning the ball over three times before finally making a basket. Northwestern even held the lead briefly after Mohamad Hachad scored the game's first points on a 3-pointer. But once the Illini settled down, the Wildcats had no chance. With the game tied at 5, Augustine grabbed the rebound after Head missed a long jumper and kicked it out to Williams, who drilled a 3-pointer that sparked a 10-2 run. Hachad's 3-pointer with 9:43 left in the first half cut Illinois' lead to 21-13, but it was the last time the Wildcats would get within double figures. Rich McBride was fouled on a 3-point try and made all three shots, starting a 12-4 run that all but ended the game. Illinois led 38-22 at halftime, and pushed the lead to as much as 25 in the second half. Northwestern didn't help itself much, shooting less than 35 percent and going 5 1/2 minutes without scoring midway through the second half.

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