Superlatives were plentiful.
Illinois guards Dee Brown, Luther Head and Deron Williams were so dominant Wednesday night that Iowa didn’t stand a chance against the 23rd-ranked Illini on its home court.
The trio led a crushing 78-59 rout of the Hawkeyes (14-10, 7-6) before an announced crowd of 14,493.
Illinois (19-5, 10-3) is in second place in the Big Ten, a half-game behind Michigan State (16-9, 11-3), and is on the verge of its fifth straight 20-victory season.
“Their guards were terrific,” Iowa coach Steve Alford said. “They got the shots they wanted and then to their credit, they made shots.”
Brown, who scored a season-high 24 points against Penn State on Saturday, kept up his heady pace.
He scored 18 points and had 10 assists, seven rebounds and just one turnover. Head scored 16 and pulled down 10 rebounds and Williams had 13 points with seven assists.
“You look at the stats, the success they’ve had is unbelievable,” said Illinois coach Bruce Weber, whose team has a seven-game winning streak heading into its showdown with Northwestern on Saturday in Champaign.
Weber’s post players, who have struggled with inconsistency, showed signs of life thanks to Roger Powell, who scored 12 points to go with his seven rebounds.
“We had points in the paint,” Weber said. “That was one thing we thought we could exploit against them.”
Illinois made it look easy, perhaps in part because Iowa has a depleted roster. The Hawkeyes are down to seven scholarship players.
They lost two players to academic troubles in addition to losing 6-foot-11-inch center Jared Reiner because of a broken foot and senior center Sean Sonderleiter, who quit the team late last month.
“You never want to look at that as an excuse,” Iowa guard Pierre Pierce said. “This is the Big Ten.”
Illinois hadn’t won at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in four years. This time the Illini had Iowa fans scurrying to the exits with six minutes left in the game.
“They’ve been playing well,” Alford said. “I don’t know if they’ve played better than that.”
The Illini were motivated after watching Michigan State’s come-from-behind victory over Michigan on Tuesday.
“We tried to get a big road win to let them know we’re fighting for the same thing they’re fighting for,” Brown said.
When Illinois and Iowa met last month in Champaign, Illinois pulled out a six-point victory, but Pierce kept the Hawkeyes in the game with several fast-break baskets. He and his teammates had none Wednesday.
Head kept Pierce in check, limiting him to 10 points. Pierce came into the game averaging 16.8 points, fifth in the Big Ten.
Freshman Richard McBride gave Illinois a long-awaited boost when he hit two three-pointers, including one with five seconds left in the first half that put Illinois up 39-28. In his previous 11 games, McBride was 2-for-23 on three-pointers.
If he can keep it up, Illinois will have yet another potent guard.
“We’re clicking at the right time,” Williams said. “Both teams were in need of a win. We’re trying to stay in the hunt [in the Big Ten]. They’re trying to get into the [NCAA] tournament.”
The Hawkeyes’ chances for an NCAA tournament bid looked bleak before the game. The hammering they endured further dims their hopes.
“Putting them away was big for us,” Brown said.
It was humiliating for Iowa.
“We were embarrassed at home,” Pierce said. “Illinois did a great job of handing it to us.”
