We’re down to eleven days until Illinois heads to Cincinnati, and this number gives us a pretty easy place to start.
Dee Brown wore it. Deron Williams handed out that many assists while Illinois took apart the No. 1 team in the country. Brandon Paul made that many shots from the field in a game Ohio State would probably prefer we quit bringing up.
That’s plenty to keep us occupied for another day. Let’s get to it.
Dee Brown and the eleven on his jersey
The headband, the orange mouthguard, the jersey pop. You can get a pretty clear picture of Dee Brown before you even start talking about the basketball.
And then there’s the basketball.
In 2005, Brown was the Sporting News National Player of the Year, a consensus first-team All-American, and both the Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. He followed that with the Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s top point guard in 2006.
No. 11 had a helluva college career. His senior-season game against Michigan State is a good place to spend a few minutes today.
On January 5, 2006, sixth-ranked Illinois beat No. 7 Michigan State 60–50 at Assembly Hall. Brown scored 34 of those 60 points, with 23 coming in the first half. He made seven threes, including one at the halftime buzzer that sent Illinois into the locker room ahead 35–28.
Thirty-four points in a game where nobody else on his team reached double figures. Michigan State had to deal with him all night, and knowing where the ball was going didn’t do much good.
The win moved Illinois to 15–0. It also ended the Spartans’ eleven-game winning streak, giving us another eleven to go with the one on Dee’s jersey.
Quite a way to open Big Ten play.
Deron Williams and eleven assists against No. 1
The Gonzaga game gave us fourteen threes in the earlier countdown post. Four days after that game, Illinois had another good reason to let them fly.
On December 1, 2004, the fifth-ranked Illini beat No. 1 Wake Forest 91–73. Deron Williams finished with eleven assists in 25 minutes, and Illinois made eleven threes.
There’s our number twice, in one of the most enjoyable box scores you’ll ever open.
Luther Head made four of those threes, Rich McBride made three, and Dee Brown and Roger Powell made two apiece. Powell led the scoring with 19 points. Head and Brown each had 16.
Illinois had 27 assists on 38 made baskets and committed just six turnovers. Against the top-ranked team in the country, with Chris Paul on the other side, the Illini kept finding somebody with a better shot.
They led 54–33 at halftime and eventually stretched the lead to 32. The final margin makes this one look considerably closer than it was.
Deron’s eight points can get lost among all those other numbers. Eleven assists in 25 minutes tells you how much he was doing. That backcourt was so freaking good together.
Brandon Paul and an eleven-point hole
On January 10, 2012, Illinois trailed No. 5 Ohio State 48–37 early in the second half. Eleven down against a team like that makes for an uncomfortable evening.
Brandon Paul made sure the ending was worth it.
Paul scored a career-high 43 points in a 79–74 Illinois win. He went 11-for-15 from the field, including 8-for-10 from three, and made 13 of 15 free throws. He also grabbed eight rebounds and blocked four shots.
Eight threes and four blocks from the same guy. Apparently scoring forty-three wasn’t enough work for him.
The finish was even better. Paul scored Illinois’ final fifteen points, all in the last 2:40. With 43 seconds left, his off-balance three put Illinois ahead 74–70.
That is an absurd way to close out a top-five opponent. Ohio State kept making Illinois earn it, and Paul kept coming up with another answer.
Eleven made baskets helped bring Illinois back from eleven down. That one still deserves another watch.
Eleven days until Cincinnati. We’re getting there!!
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