Low Score a Moot Point as Illinois Wins Again

Deron Williams couldn’t get a shot to fall. A lot of his passes, though, were on target.

Williams had assists on Illinois’ first seven baskets and finished with 11 as the top-ranked Illini remained unbeaten with a 60-47 victory over Indiana on Sunday in a Big Ten Conference game at Champaign, Ill.

It was the lowest-scoring game of the season for Illinois, which improved to 23-0 overall and 9-0 in the conference. The Illini held the Hoosiers (10-10, 5-4) to their second-lowest output of the season.

“We got a ‘W.’ That’s all I care about,” said Williams, who was 0 for 7 from the field. His only point was a free throw with 2:15 left. “I just didn’t shoot the ball well. I still got my teammates involved. That’s what I try to do.”

James Augustine scored 16 points and Luther Head had 13 for the Illini, who should remain the unanimous No. 1 in Associated Press’ college basketball poll for a second straight week.

The Illini let a 20-3 run to start the game evaporate as the Hoosiers outscored them 17-6 over the last 8:15 of the first half to trail 26-20.

“We weren’t sharp that’s for sure,” Illinois Coach Bruce Weber said. “You’re not going to play perfect all the time. You wish you could but we didn’t.”

Illinois’ previous low was a 67-45 win over Cincinnati on Dec. 31.

The Hoosiers played without leading scorer Bracey Wright, who sat out the game because of an injured left ankle.

No. 2 North Carolina 81, Florida State 60 -- Rashad McCants’ dunk ignited a 25-6 run down the stretch and the Tar Heels (19-2, 8-1) defeated the Seminoles (11-11, 3-6) in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Tallahassee, Fla.

Florida State clawed back from an 18-point first-half deficit to within 49-48 on Diego Romero’s three-pointer with 14:16 left.

But McCants, who led all scorers with 16 points, dunked a pass from Raymond Felton 20 seconds later. Within nine minutes the Tar Heels were up 74-54 as Florida State went scoreless for more than seven minutes.

OTHER GAMES

DePaul 56, St. Louis 53 -- Drake Diener made the clinching free throws with nine seconds left to help the Blue Demons (15-5, 7-2) hold off the Billikens (5-16, 3-6) in a Conference USA game at St. Louis. Quemont Greer overcame early shooting woes to score 16 points for the Blue Demons, who overcame a 10-point first-half deficit.

Navy 84, Army 69 -- Taj Mathews scored a career-high 26 points to lead the Midshipmen (7-15, 3-6) over the Cadets (3-18, 1-8) in a Patriot League game at Annapolis, Md. Navy never trailed in the game, jumping to a 12-1 lead.