The exuberant orange-clad sellout crowd in Assembly Hall had something extra to celebrate Wednesday night when eighth-ranked Illinois came on strong in the second half to blow out Minnesota 77-53.
The 16,618 fans saw the Illini (18-2, 4-2 in Big Ten) stretch their home winning streak to 32 games, breaking the school mark of 31 set from Jan. 15, 1984-Jan. 4, 1986.
Coach Bruce Weber’s team is tied with Gonzaga for the nation’s second-longest current streak, one behind Southern Illinois, which has won 33 straight at home.
“It’s a tribute to our program, to coach Weber, to the guys we have had in the past and to the fans for their support,” said co-captain Brian Randle, whose second-half performance was one of the important ingredients in the victory.
Randle was whistled for his second foul only two minutes into the game and sat out the rest of the half. Then, about 2 1/2 minutes into the second half, the 6-foot-8-inch sophomore was charged with his third foul. Weber stuck with him and he made an impact.
In the second half the Illini broke open the game with a 21-2 run that began with 12:43 remaining. Flaunting his running and jumping ability, Randle accounted for eight of the points.
“They got a little impatient and took some tough shots and we broke their backs in transition,” Weber said. “That disrupted some of their flow.”
Point guard Dee Brown also asserted himself in the second half, scoring 12 of his 17 points.
“Dee had a great all-around game,” Weber said. “He shot, he passed it, he pushed it.”
Brown made 7 of 11 shots for his highest field-goal percentage this season, and his five assists moved him past Deron Williams into second place on the Illinois career list with 597.
The Illini shot 47.5 percent from the field, their best average of the Big Ten season.
“It’s fun for me to watch other guys excel,” Brown said. “Our bench played pretty well. There were a lot of positives.”
Randle, Rich McBride, Calvin Brock, Jamar Smith, Brown and Chester Frazier took turns guarding Minnesota star Vincent Grier, an incumbent from last season’s coaches’ All-Big Ten first team. In the first half the slashing left-handed guard scored 11 points to emerge from the slump that saw him score a career-low four points in Saturday’s loss to Michigan. But in the second half Grier again was having a hard time finding the net; he missed 7 of 8 shots and had only three points.
The poor shooting that has plagued the Gophers since the start of Big Ten play continued. They shot 35.8 percent.
“They looked like a top-10 team and we looked like a team that is struggling and lacks confidence,” Minnesota coach Dan Monson said.
Conspicuous by his absence was fan favorite Warren Carter. The 6-8 junior sub, who had a career high 11 rebounds in Saturday’s victory at Northwestern, sat out the game for a minor team infraction. Weber said he will return at home Saturday against Purdue.
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nmilbert@tribune.com
