Illini shoot 70 percent from field to torch Northwestern

CHAMPAIGN — Bruce Weber called it “craziness.”

Illinois point guard Demetri McCamey described it as “sharing the sugar.”

Northwestern coach Bill Carmody suggested his offense played “Ring Around the Rosie,” which wasn't exactly a compliment.

As you can tell, the postgame quotes were more exciting than the actual descriptions and accounts of No. 20 Illinois' 88-63 blowout Big Ten win Thursday night at Assembly Hall.

Northwestern trailed by double figures for the final 33-plus minutes as the Illini shot a school-record 70.5 percent from the field.

“Not much competition out there tonight,” Carmody said. “They played extremely well. We had something to do with that, I think.

“I don't know if it was effort or energy. It just didn't seem like we had the energy that was necessary to win, especially on the road in a tough place against a tough team.”

Illinois not only had the energy, it had the accuracy.

McCamey's 14 points led six Illini in double figures as they hit 13 of their first 15 shots to fuel a brilliant start.

Illinois (13-3, 3-0) drilled 3-pointers on its first three possessions and produced a 3-point play on the fourth.

With 11:42 left in the first half, the hosts already held a 29-10 lead.

“I think we made history or something with 70 percent,” McCamey said. “I don't know about the 64 (percent on 3-pointers), but it's probably up there.

“We've got to give credit to all the guys who made shots and making all the right plays and sharing the sugar, like everybody says.”

Senior power forward Mike Davis (12 points, 7 rebounds) joined the sugar-sharing to an unprecedented degree. He handed out 5 of his career-high 7 assists during that early 29-10 spree.

“Just found my teammates,” Davis said. “We had the high-low working in the first half, me and (Mike) Tisdale.”

None of the Illini played more than 28 minutes as Carmody complimented Weber for being sympathetic to his team's plight.

John Shurna, the Big Ten's leading scorer, played just 21 minutes as Carmody pulled him with 17:29 to go and the Wildcats trailing by 25.

Shurna finished with 7 points and 4 steals but no rebounds. Freshman JerShon Cobb delivered a career-high 18 points for Northwestern (9-4, 0-3), but most came deep in the second half.

Senior point guard Michael Thompson played 38 minutes and contributed 15 points as the only Wildcat to shoot decently from the arc.

He made 5 of 13 3-point attempts, but NU hit just 9 of 38 as a whole. That 24-percent rate paled in comparison to the 41 percent the Wildcats shot in their first 12 games.

“We never let them get in a rhythm,” Weber said. “We recognized things and situations. If you don't let a team get into a rhythm, they just don't step into their shots with the confidence they normally have.”