Illinois escapes Purdue with win

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Top-ranked Illinois found itself in an unfamiliar position heading into halftime at Purdue. The Illini were behind.

Dee Brown made sure that didn't last long.

After not taking a single shot in the first half, Brown scored all 14 of his points in the second half to lead the Illini to a 68-59 victory over Purdue on Saturday.

"I told him to play like you're No. 1," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "I said, 'Somebody has to step up and make plays.' Dee took it to heart."

He certainly did.

Trailing at halftime for the first time this season, the Illini opened the second half with a 23-6 run to take control.

Brown hit three 3-pointers during the surge, the last giving Illinois a 56-45 lead with just over 9 minutes to play. He also turned up the heat defensively, creating turnovers and opportunities in transition for the quicker, more talented Illini.

"We're so balanced, I think they forgot about me," Brown said. "I had no points, no shots, then I started hitting them. In the second half, they started to play me a little softer and I shot the ball."

Luther Head scored 15 points for Illinois (16-0, 2-0 Big Ten), which came into the game outscoring opponents by 20.5 points a game, but this one was no gimme.

Matt Kiefer had 17 points and six rebounds to lead Purdue (4-8, 0-2).

Illinois was uncharacteristically sluggish in the first half, missing open layups and 3-pointers, getting into foul trouble and lacking the crisp ball movement on offense that has made the Illini unbeatable so far this season.

"We were behind on everything," Weber said. "We were the team on its heels and they were the team on their toes. We haven't been in this situation for a long, long time."