Illinois routs Northwestern

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Dee Brown scored 20 points, 18 on 3-pointers, to lead top-ranked and unbeaten Illinois to an 84-48 victory over Northwestern on Wednesday night that clinched a share of the Big Ten title for the Illini.

Brown was 6-of-8 from 3-point range, hitting five in the first half. The barrage included consecutive baskets that started a 16-6 run that gave Illinois a 28-13 lead with 9:37 left in the first half. A 4:46 drought later in the half sealed Northwestern's fate and the Illini led 45-22 at halftime.

Illinois (28-0, 14-0) clinched at least a share of the Big Ten title for the second consecutive season. They can win the championship outright with a victory in either of their last two games -- Purdue and Ohio State -- or a loss by second-place Michigan State.

Brown finished the decisive run with a 28-footer and a fast-break layup off Rich McBride's steal. He also had two steals and five assists, including a nifty alley-oop toss to Roger Powell Jr. for a rim-rattling dunk that gave the Illini a 66-28 lead with 13:38 to go.

The Wildcats (13-13, 5-8), playing without injured forward Michael Thompson for the sixth straight game, hit six of their first seven shots but by halftime they were shooting only 44 percent. They were outscored 19-6 to begin the second half and the Illini led by as many as 41 points.

Thompson hurt his foot on Feb. 2 and did not dress for the game.

Mohamed Hachad scored 15 points to lead the Wildcats, while Vedran Vukusic had 14.

The Illini opened with a 9-1 run behind six points from Powell and never trailed en route to their 24th straight Big Ten win and their 20th in a row at Assembly Hall.

Powell finished with 18 points, Luther Head scored 14 and Deron Williams had 13 for Illinois.

The Illinois reserves played most of the last 10 minutes and only McBride failed to score.

Northwestern was just 1-of-16 from 3-point range and finished the night 22-of-54 from the field (41 percent).