Mike Davis tied his season high with 22 points, Demetri McCamey added 17 points and seven assists and Illinois dominated UNLV 73-62 Friday night to set up another meeting between Fighting Illini coaches past and present in the Southwest Region of the NCAA tournament.

The ninth-seeded Illini (20-13) took control with an early 15-0 run and led by as many as 25 in a surprisingly easy rout after losing 10 of their previous 16 games to bring into question whether they’d even make it onto the 68-team bracket.

Bruce Weber’s squad led by double digits throughout the second half against eighth-seeded UNLV (24-9), with former Illini coach Lon Kruger in charge. Next up for Illinois is a Sunday night clash against No. 1 seed Kansas and Weber’s predecessor, Bill Self.

Oscar Bellfield scored 14 to lead the Runnin’ Rebels, who lost for just the second time in their last eight games.

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