No. 25 Indiana Routs Illinois 103-69 On Ferrell's Big Night
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Troy Williams scored 21 points and Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell finished with 16 points and nine assists Tuesday night, helping No. 25 Indiana blow out Illinois, 103-69.
It was a milestone night for Ferrell. The senior guard broke Michael Lewis' career record for assists (545. He has 553. Ferrell moved within 13 points of passing Eric Anderson for No. 10 on the Hoosiers' career scoring list.
All that came on a night that the Hoosiers (16-3, 6-0 Big Ten) extending their winning streak to 11 and set a school record with 19 3-pointers.
Illinois (9-10, 1-5) was led by Malcolm Hill with 20 points and Kendrick Nunn with 10.
But this one got away in a hurry.
Indiana closed out the first half on a 20-4 run to take a 42-25 lead and opened the second half by making five of its first six shots to seal it.
Ferrell's big night came with all the trimmings.
The crowd roared when he threw a nifty pass into the post, which set up Max Bielfeldt's layup with 11:18 left in the first half and gave the Hoosiers a 19-11 lead.
His teammates took the cue when he started knocking down 3s.
Coach Tom Crean even raised Ferrell's hand when he came out for the final time, with 4:25 to play.
But this took more than just one man.
After Illinois used a 10-0 spurt to trim an 11-point deficit to 22-21, the Hoosiers' defense buckled down and allowed just one basket in the final 7:38 of the first half. Meanwhile, the Hoosiers' 3-point barrage continued.
The combination never gave the Illini a chance to get back into the game.
Indiana wound up 19 of 36 from beyond the arc, breaking a game record that was set against Minnesota in 2015.
Illinois has lost eight straight road games since a victory at Michigan State last February.
THE STREAK
The 11-game winning streak is the second-longest of Crean's tenure. Indiana started 2011-12 by going 12-0. The Hoosiers' longest winning streak since 2000 is 13, in 2007-08. If Indiana sweeps its final three games this month — two at home and a trip to Wisconsin — it would be the Hoosiers' first perfect January since the 1991-92 Final Four team went 7-0.
TIP-INS
Illinois: Are 1-3 against ranked teams this season. ... Freshman Jalen Coleman-Lands finished with six points in his first trip home. Coleman-Lands is the first Indiana recruit to play at Illinois in 30 years. ... Illinois was averaging 9.3 3s over the last 12 games and had a league-best average of 9.7 turnovers this season but wound up 7 of 18 on 3s and had 15 turnovers Tuesday.
Indiana: Remain atop the Big Ten standings as one of two unbeaten teams in league play. ... Indiana has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 23 of its last 52 games and has shot 40 percent or better from beyond the arc 31 times during that span — the most in the nation.
UP NEXT
Illinois visits Minnesota on Saturday.
Indiana hosts Northwestern on Saturday.
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