Nov. 20, 2004

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Quick Shots
• Illinois enters the Florida A&M game with a winning streak of 32 straight victories over non-conference opponents at the Assembly Hall.
• The Rattlers dropped a 104-72 decision at Michigan State Friday night.
• Illinois and Delaware State combined to shoot 61 percent (59-97) to set the Illini all-time and Assembly Hall records for combined field-goal percentage.
• Delaware State grabbed just 12 rebounds Friday night, the lowest total of any Illini oppo-nent at the Assembly Hall. The Hornets and Illini combined for 39 rebounds for the lowest com-bined total at the Assembly Hall.
• Illinois has led the Big Ten in scoring each of the last four seasons.
• The television package for the Wooden Tradition on Nov. 27 has been established. In the state of Illinois, the game can be seen on Superstation WGN (outside Chicago), on WBBM-Ch. 2 in Chicago and in Central Illinois on WCIA/WCFN.

Williams Fifth-Straight Illini Chosen Preseason Player of the Year Pick
Junior guard Deron Williams became the fifth straight Illini to be named Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year at the recent Big Ten Media Day in Chicago. Williams, also named to the All-Big Ten First-Team last season, is just the third Big Ten player ever to lead the league in assists in each of his first two seasons, joining Michigan State's Magic Johnson (1978-79) and Illinois' Bruce Douglas (1983-84). Williams has also earned Preseason All-America honors from Playboy Magazine and is among 50 preseason candidates for the Wooden Award.

Two Illini Earn All-Big Ten Honors
Junior guards Deron Williams and Dee Brown were both named to the Preseason All-Big Ten First Team at the recent Big Ten Media Day in Chicago. Brown was a Second-Team All-Big Ten selection in 2004 after being named the preseason Player of the Year prior to his sophomore season.

Backcourt Earns National Rep
Junior guards Deron Williams and Dee Brown are both listed on the preseason lists for the Naismith Award and Wooden Award All-America teams.

Illinois Begins Season Near the Top
Illinois began the 2004-05 season ranked No. 5 in both the Preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and Associated Press Poll, its highest presea-son ranking since starting the 2001-02 season ranked No. 2 in the coaches' poll and No. 3 in the AP poll. The Illini received one first place vote in the coaches' poll and two in the AP poll. The Illini dropped to No. 6 in the AP poll released Nov. 16.

Randle Sidelined with Broken Hand
Sophomore forward Brian Randle suffered a broken left hand in practice on Nov. 10 and will be sidelined for 6-10 weeks. Surgery on Nov. 11 successfully repaired the bone.

Valpo Game Time Changed
Start time for the Dec. 19 men's basketball game against Valparaiso has been changed to 4 p.m. An Illini women's game against UCLA is scheduled to begin at Noon that day. The men's game against Valparaiso is part of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic.

Last Time Out -- vs. Delaware State
Illinois opened the 2004-05 season with a hot-shooting 87-67 victory over Delaware State. The Illini and Hornets combined to shoot 61 percent from the field to set all-time Illini and Assembly Hall records for highest combined shooting per-centage. Dee Brown led the Illini with 17 points, while James Augustine and Luther Head added 15, and De ron Williams scored 12 to pace Illinois' attack. The Illini finally shook the pesky Hornets with a run late in the first half to take a 13-point lead into the locker room. Delaware State shot 65 percent from the field in the first half, yet trailed 50-37. The win gave Illinois an all-time record of 88-12 in season openers.

Hot Ticket to Watch the Illini at the Hall
Illinois sold out of season tickets for the 2004-05 campaign, making it one of the hottest tickets in program history. As of Nov. 12, single-game tickets remained only for games against Florida A&M (500), Oakland (2,300) and Longwood (1,040), all games not part of the student season ticket package. Fans can also purchase tickets for the Dec. 11 game against Oregon at the United Center ($22) and for the Las Vegas Holiday Classic ($90 for all-session) through the UI Athletics Ticket Office. A very limited number of tickets for the Wooden Tradition in Indianapolis ($20 & $50) and the road game at Georgetown ($22.50) are available as well.

Home Cookin'
Illinois is 52-2 (.963) at the Assembly Hall over the last four-plus years, with the only losses coming to Michigan State on Feb. 3, 2002 and to Purdue on Jan. 10, 2004 ... The Boilermakers broke a 23-game Illini winning streak at the Hall that at the time ranked fourth in the nation ... Illinois is 64-3 (.955) at the Assembly Hall over the past five-plus seasons, the best home mark in the nation over that period ... The Illini have also won 32 in a row at the Assembly Hall against non-conference opponents ... Illinois has won 35 of its last 37 (.946) Big Ten games at the Assembly Hall.