Illini make another statement, rout MSU
Dee Brown backpedalled with his right arm held high and wrist cocked after making a 3-pointer.
It was a sight No. 1 Illinois enjoyed often against Michigan State.
Luther Head scored 22 points, Brown had 18 and the Fighting Illini made 13 3-pointers to remain undefeated with an 81-68 victory over the 12th-ranked Spartans on Tuesday night at East Lansing, Mich.
“In the warmups, I shot two airballs and the fans started talking trash,” Brown said. “When people start talking trash, it just puts fuel in my tank. I knew I was going to get hot.”
Illinois (22-0, 8-0 Big Ten) was expected to face a tough test against Michigan State (14-4, 5-2) in an arena known to be raucous. But several Illini calmly made 3-pointers and when they were not making shots from beyond the arc, they scored on low-post moves and midrange jumpers in their finely tuned half-court offense.
“I thought it was louder during warmups than during the game,” said Illinois’ Deron Williams, who missed only one of five 3-pointers and scored 14 points.
Illinois shot 56.9 percent overall and was 13 of 24 beyond the arc.
On the other end of the court, the Illini wouldn’t let Michigan State get much done because they seemed to have their bodies, arms or hands in every passing lane. The Spartans had 13 turnovers and only one was unforced.
Alan Anderson scored 14 points for the Spartans, who lost their 12th straight game against a ranked opponent.
Michigan State’s Paul Davis and Shannon Brown each scored 12 points while Maurice Ager and reserve Kelvin Torbert both had 10.
Illinois led by 17 points midway through the second half and was ahead 73-58 with 6:37 to go before the Spartans rallied to avoid an absolute rout.
(5) Boston College 62, West Virginia 50: At Boston, Craig Smith scored 23 points to lead the Eagles, who remained unbeaten and matched the school-record, 19-game winning streak.
Smith was scoreless while the Mountaineers built an 18-9 lead with 9:21 left in the first half. Then he scored 17 of the Eagles’ next 24 points, giving them the lead for good, 33-32, with a layup with 16:04 remaining.
Boston College (19-0, 8-0 Big East) matched its school-record winning streak set in 1968-69. It already has its highest ranking and best start.
Mike Gansey and Tyrone Sally each had 10 points for West Virginia (12-7, 2-6), which has lost six of seven.
Clemson 88, (22) Maryland 73: Sharrod Ford tied his career high with 25 points and the Tigers snapped a 13-game losing streak against Maryland at Clemson, S.C.
Clemson (11-10, 2-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) had not beaten the Terrapins since a 78-65 overtime win at Littlejohn Coliseum on Dec. 4, 1997. The Tigers had lost five straight overall and seven of eight.
John Gilchrist had 18 points for the Terrapins (13-6, 4-4), who missed their final 13 shots of the first half and fell behind 45-29.
Huskies star will return NFL jersey
University of Washington star guard Nate Robinson will return a Chicago Bears jersey given to him by a former Huskies football player because accepting it may have been an NCAA violation.
Terry Johnson gave one of his Bears’ jerseys to Robinson, a junior who is the leading scorer for the No. 13 Huskies, after the basketball team’s Pac-10 victory Saturday at Arizona State.
“I’ll definitely give it back,” Robinson told reporters before practice. “It was just a slight misunderstanding with the NCAA and everything. I’ve known Terry for three years.
The Huskies advised Robinson to return the jersey, but said they weren’t sure if it constituted a violation.
“It’s kind of a gray area,” UW athletics spokesman Dan Lepse said. “We decided it’s better to eliminate any appearance of impropriety and return the jersey.”