Tomislav Ivisic had a career-high 28 points, Andrej Stojakovic added 26 and No. 3 Illinois bounced back from its first loss this season with a 108-86 victory over Sam Houston on Friday night in Champaign.
Coming off an 84-78 defeat Tuesday night at No. 16 Texas Tech, the Fighting Illini (3-1) pulled away from the Bearkats by scoring 63 points in the second half to set up a high-profile showdown with No. 2 Duke next week.
After trailing 45-40 at halftime, Sam Houston (2-2) went in front 57-56 with 15:58 left on a fast-break dunk by Enel St. Bernard. Ivisic answered 14 seconds later with a 3-pointer that launched an 11-0 run for the Illini, who never trailed again.
Ivisic scored 10 of the first 14 points for Illinois in the second half. He briefly left the court midway through the period after being elbowed in the mouth, but returned and finished the game.
Stefan Vaaks scored 14 points off the bench, and Quentin Coleman had 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Illinois. Ethan Brown also scored 11.
Justin Begg had 19 points and 10 assists for the Bearkats. Aidan McDowell also scored 19 points, Yoda Oke added 14 off the bench and Jacobe Coleman finished with 11.
The Illini forced 14 turnovers, converting them into 19 points, and had nine steals and six blocks.
Illinois is 3-0 at home and has scored at least 108 points in all three blowouts.
It was the first game between Illinois and Sam Houston, but Illini coach Brad Underwood improved to 9-0 against the Bearkats. The first eight wins came in the Southland Conference from 2013-16 when Underwood was the coach at Stephen F. Austin.
Up next
Sam Houston visits Wyoming on Tuesday.
Illinois plays at No. 2 Duke on Tuesday.
DePAUL 67, NORTHWESTERN 47
Kruz McClure scored 18 points and Koree Cotton added 15 as DePaul defeated crosstown foe Northwestern 67-47 on Friday night.
The Blue Demons (4-0) took down the Wildcats (3-1) for the first time since Dec. 21, 2019, and the first time in Evanston since Dec. 27, 2013. Northwestern had not trailed at any point in three previous games.
DePaul shot just 36% as a team and 31% from deep, but held Northwestern to 31% and 25% marks. The Blue Demons hit 11 3-pointers, their third straight game in double-figures.
Fabian Flores grabbed eight rebounds, and Cotton and Magoon Gwath each had six. Layden Blocker had two blocks and two steals.
The two teams traded the lead back-and-forth in a low-scoring first half, and DePaul led 27-23 at the break. Cotton and McClure each had eight points in the first.
The Blue Demons opened the second half with consecutive 3-pointers by Popoola and Cotton, stretching their advantage to double-digits. They went on runs of 6-0 and 7-0 to cruise to a comfortable victory.
Jake West scored a game-high 20 for the Wildcats and LA Pratt had 10. West has reached 20 points in all four games this season.
Up next
DePaul: hosts Maryland Eastern on Tuesday.
Northwestern: hosts Columbia on Monday.