Illinois wins 11th straight over Michigan

'Seniors lead the way in 79-74 win'         

By Greg Taylor

[JAN. 16, 2006]  CHAMPAIGN -- Dee Brown and James Augustine have experienced great success in their 3 1/2 seasons playing for the Illinois Fighting Illini. The pair from the Chicago area have never experienced a loss to Minnesota, Missouri or Penn State. They have just one loss in their careers against Indiana, Michigan State, Northwestern and Ohio State. They should finish their college careers with more wins than any other players in Illini history. Their legacies will last long past this March or April.

But one streak that stands above any other in many ways is the 10-game winning streak Illinois holds over Michigan -- many of the victories coming the last three-plus seasons. That streak, along with the nation's longest home-court winning streak, was on the line Saturday afternoon in Champaign, and Illinois' superheroes didn't disappoint. Brown led Illinois with 26 points, including four huge 3-pointers down the stretch, while Augustine scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds despite battling foul problems in the second half. The result was victory No. 11 in a row over Michigan, a hard-fought 79-74 win in front of another sell-out crowd at the Assembly Hall.

This game was anything but easy, as Michigan coach Tommy Amaker's Wolverines refused to quit time and time again. A veteran club with amazing basketball skills, Michigan rallied twice from double-digit deficits and actually took a 70-69 lead into the final media timeout of the day. But in the end, Illinois' poise proved to be too much for Michigan, and the Illini squeezed out another win against the visitors from the north.

It was just a decade ago that players like Chris Webber, Jalen Rose and Tractor Trailor were leading Michigan to yearly sweeps of Illinois toward the end of the Lou Henson era. But things change -- and aren't we really glad they do? Illinois has not lost to Michigan since January of 2000 -- when Lon Kruger was leading Illinois.

Several positives played out for Illinois Saturday, including:

• Improved free-throw shooting! Illinois made 20 of 24 attempts, easily their best effort of the season, and no free throws were bigger than the two made by Warren Carter with 17 ticks left on the clock.
• Brian Randle played a great all-around game, scoring nine points, grabbing six rebounds and playing solid defense all day.
• Rich McBride and Jamar Smith each hit key 3-point baskets as Illinois went on mini runs during the first half.

• Illinois won the rebounding battle 35-31 against the tall and athletic Wolverines.
• Randle held Michigan star Lester Abram to just five points on the day.
• Michigan shot just 35 percent in the first half.

The effort was much better than the 48-point output last week in Squawkland. Illinois improves to 16-1 on the year and is 2-1 in conference play ahead of a huge week of road games. Illinois will play at Indiana on Tuesday night at 6, a national ESPN broadcast, and will travel to Evanston to play Northwestern at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Illini news and notes

• Freshman Chester Frazier was suspended for one game for undisclosed violation of team rules and will return to action Tuesday at Indiana. As a result of Frazier's absence, Brown played all 40 minutes.
• Illinois has not lost at the Assembly Hall since Jan. 10, 2004, against Purdue, and the streak is now at 31 games -- tied with Gonzaga and Southern Illinois for the longest current home-court win streaks in the nation.
• The orange-clad fans voiced regular displeasure with the officials on Saturday, especially conference newcomer Jeff Nichols. Maybe the fact Michigan went over 10 1/2 minutes in the second half without being called for a foul led to this hometown frustration?
• Former coach Bill Self had a tough day Saturday, as his Kansas Jayhawks lost at home to state rival Kansas State 59-55. KU had won the last 31 games in that series, and no doubt the natives are restless somewhere over the rainbow.
• Saturday also marked the first time in 31 years that the three biggest winning programs in NCAA history (Kentucky, North Carolina and Kansas) all lost home games on the same day.

[Greg Taylor]

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