CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — “Deeeeeeee for threeeeeeee!”
Illinois public announcer cried out those three words six different times Wednesday night. Dee Brown, the diminutive Illinois point guard, couldn’t miss from anywhere on the court as No. 1 Illinois rolled over Northwestern, 84-48, in front of a sellout crowd of 16,618 at Assembly Hall.
“After I got my first two (3-pointers), my confidence just kept building,” Brown said. “These guys got me the ball. There was some of the best ball movement I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Brown finished with a game-high 20 points and missed only two shots from beyond the arc. He also registered five assists and two steals.
Brown also seized the opportunity to do a bit of trash talking after the game, which was directed at his “friends” at NU (13-13, 5-8 Big Ten).
Asked whether he was contested on any of his 3-point attempts, Brown said NU guard Michael Jenkins may have had a hand up for one of his shots.
“I shot it…and said to Jenkins, ‘I didn’t see you right there.’ I came down and he was just so little. I thought I was little,” Brown said. “He maybe got a hand in my chest area. That counts.”
The Fighting Illini (28-0, 14-0) converted 14-of-23 three point attempts. The Wildcats didn’t hit a shot from downtown until guard Joe Kennedy dropped a trey with 1:20 left.
The Illini were on the war path from tip off, beginning the game on a 9-1 run. Forward Roger Powell scored six of those points, screaming in exuberance at Vince Scott after his third basket over the NU big man.
Powell and center James Augustine, proved too much for the Cats’ post players to handle. The pair combined for 22 points, with a majority of those coming off second and third chances.
Powell also provided some show-stopping flashiness on four of his 18 points. His two-hand slam capped a 9-0 Illinois run to start the second half. Brown started the highlight reel, pick-pocketing Jenkins. Brown then kicked the ball up to a wide-open Powell at the other end of the court.
Powell provided an encore five minutes later, dunking an alley-oop from guard Luther Head with 13:39 left to give Illinois a 66-28 lead.
But Powell said his six first half offensive rebounds were the takeaway statistic.
“Coach (Bruce Weber) said to really hit the boards,” Powell said. “We didn’t rebound very well in the last game, and I told James at the beginning of the game, ‘Let’s get it done.'”
Illinois outrebounded NU 36-21. Only guard Mohamed Hachad, who NU coach Bill Carmody said is the only NU player that gets above the rim for rebounds, had more than three rebounds.
Coming off the bench for the seventh consecutive game, Hachad led the Cats in scoring and rebounding for the second straight game with 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
“I’d like to see him do that stuff in the first half,” Carmody said. “But I was happy for the guy.
“Maybe it’ll give him a little confidence.”
The Cats didn’t convert their first field goal attempt until 16:39 left in the first half. NU closed to gap to four points after two quick baskets from forward Vedran Vukusic and guard T.J. Parker.
But Illinois outscored NU 36-17 in the rest of the period to take a 45-22 lead at halftime.
Reach Zach Silka at [email protected].
