College basketball

Men: Illini humble No. 1 Deacons

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - With about 21/2 minutes left, Illinois' rabid "Orange Krush" student section started chanting, "WE'RE No. 1! WE'RE No. 1!"

No. 5 Illinois certainly made a case for the top ranking Wednesday night, turning No. 1 Wake Forest into a nonconference patsy with a 91-73 rout that wasn't even as close as the score indicated.

"They played infinitely better than we did. I don't know how much more clearly I can say it," Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser said. "They made shots that were open, they made shots that were contested. Their offense was exponentially better than our defense, hence the score of the game."

Roger Powell scored 19, Dee Brown and Luther Head added 16 each and the Illini beat Wake Forest in every phase. Illinois led by double digits the last 28 minutes and was up by as much as 32 in the second half.

That was even with Deron Williams having an off night. Williams, the preseason pick as Big Ten player of the year, missed much of the first half with foul trouble and finished with eight points, though he did have a team-high 11 assists.

"Playing without Deron, the best player, player of the year is tough," said Brown, who had seven assists. "He's a great asset to our team, but when he goes out, someone else has got to step up, and I think Luther and Rog and myself made some shots and played hard."

The Illini held the Demon Deacons to 39 percent shooting, and Wake's two best players were never a factor. Chris Paul, the leading vote-getter on the AP's preseason All-America team, had 10, and Justin Gray, MVP of the preseason NIT, had 11.

"I don't know what to say," Brown said when asked if the Illini should be No. 1. "After that performance, you tell me."

[Last modified December 2, 2004, 00:39:58]