Oregon tops Illini 77-70

CHICAGO - Dillon Brooks scored 24 points and Oregon beat Illinois 77-70 on Saturday night.

Joseph Young scored 15 points and Dwayne Benjamin added 13 for the Ducks, who were playing their first true road game of the season.

Ahmaad Rorie scored 11 and Elgin Cook had 10.

Rayvonte Rice scored 29 points for the Illini, who led by as many as 13 and fell to 35-13 all-time at the United Center.

Brooks made two free throws for a 73-67 Oregon lead with 1:11 remaining. But Rice nailed a 3 with 45.7 seconds left to cut Oregon's lead to three.

Rorie all but sealed the Ducks' victory when he hit a jumper with 12 seconds for a 75-70 lead.

Aaron Cosby missed the final shot for Illinois before Rorie made a layup for the final score.

Oregon shot 46 percent from the field to Illinois' 36 percent. The Ducks also scored 40 points in the paint to the Illini's 20.

The Ducks took a 68-64 lead on Brooks' jumper with 2:21 left. Rorie was fouled and made all three free throws for a 71-64 Oregon lead with 1:31 remaining. Rice responded with a 3 with 1:13 left.

The Illini had built a five-point lead after a free throw by Rice and a jumper by Nnanna Egwu with 8:16 left.

After the Ducks cut it to one, Starks hit a 3 for a 64-60 lead with 5:49 left. Young tied it at 64 with two free throws with 4:43 left.

The Illini shot 37 percent from the field but were 14 for 14 at the free-throw line in the first half. Rice scored 14 and Egwu added eight. Oregon shot 46 percent from the field but just 2 for 5 on free throws. Brooks had 14 and Cook added eight. Cook also had three fouls by halftime.

After Oregon cut the lead to 25-22, Illinois went on a 10-0 run, but the Ducks rallied with a 13-4 run to pull to within 39-35 at halftime.

Young, Oregon's leading scorer for the season, did not start. He had eight points before halftime.

Illinois lost to seventh-ranked Villanova 73-59 on Tuesday in New York.

Oregon fell to Mississippi 79-73 on Tuesday in its previous game.

TIP-INS

Oregon: The Ducks wore black uniforms with yellow trim and letters for the first time this season. . Cook was issued a technical foul after yelling at an Illinois player after he scored a putback basket to tie it 2-2 with 19:12 left before halftime. . Oregon has six freshmen and two sophomores. Freshman Dillon Brooks was the team's only player to have scored in double figures every game. He was leading all Pac-12 freshmen with 14.8 points per game. He was also averaging 6.4 rebounds.

Illinois: G Kendrick Nunn made his first start of the season in place of Aaron Cosby, who was averaging 9.1 points. . Illinois was 35-12 all-time at the United Center. The Illini had won three of four at the venue, including a 74-60 victory over Illinois-Chicago last season. . The 2015 Big Ten tournament will be at the facility. . Eight Illinois players hail from the Chicago area.

UP NEXT

Oregon: Hosts Cal State Northridge on Wednesday.

Illinois: Hosts Hampton on Wednesday.