Illinois blows out Minnesota -- eventually         

By Greg Taylor

[JAN. 26, 2006]  CHAMPAIGN -- Wednesday's home game against Minnesota seemed to have victory written all over it. First, Illinois rarely, if ever, loses at home. Second, Minnesota, rarely, and not all this year, wins conference games. Finally, with a victory, Illinois would jump into a tie for second place in the conference with Indiana, Iowa and Ohio State. What played out, however, especially in the first half, was anything but easy for the boys in orange.

Illinois won the game 77-53 before another sell-out crowd. Illinois has now won its 32nd straight game in the friendly confines of the Assembly Hall, the second-longest streak in the nation, behind the 33 straight home wins by Southern Illinois. The game was also the 14th straight victory over Minnesota, going all the way back to the 1999 Big Ten season and the coaching legacy of Clem Haskins.

Minnesota came to town a desperate team, badly needing a win in order to get its first conference victory of the year. The Gophers, led by stud wing Vincent Grier, played loose and hungry for much of the first half and actually led Illinois at 17-16. Illinois, on the other hand, battled foul trouble in the first 20 minutes, achieving the very difficult feat of having four players pick up two fouls each in the first half. Brian Randle received his second foul less than two minutes into the game, and Rich McBride, Shaun Pruitt and Dee Brown all had two fouls at the break. Minnesota went over 12 minutes in the first half without committing a foul and finished the half with just four.

The offense in the first half for Illinois came from downtown, as freshman Jamar Smith made three long-range shots, while McBride hit two 3s and Brown added a bomb. Senior James Augustine had eight points and seven rebounds, while Marcus Arnold, the ISU transfer who didn't play Saturday, chipped in three points and played strong defense. The Illini led at the break 39-31, but the feeling was that Minnesota was very much in the game and ready to make a move.

The second half was a totally different story altogether. After the Gophers closed to within four at 41-37, Illinois went on a 10-2 run to extend the lead to 51-39. Brown scored five during the run and Augustine had a 3-point play. Minnesota closed the gap to six at the 12-minute mark, before a 12-0 Illinois run put the game out of reach at 64-46 with eight minutes to play. Randle used his great athletic ability during the run, scoring eight of the points and bringing down the house with a thunderous alley-oop.

For the game, Illinois was led in scoring by Dee Brown, who scored 17 points on the night and also chipped in five assists. Smith scored 16 points, including five 3-point shots, while Augustine had another double-double, with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Randle also got into double figures with 10 points -- not a bad evening considering he played less than two minutes in the first half.

Illinois is now 18-2 on the year and 4-2 in the conference ahead of a home date against Purdue on Saturday. Illinois will face the Boilers just once this season, and game time is set for 3:30 p.m.

[Greg Taylor]

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