Feb. 23, 2005

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1. The win tonight guarantees Illinois at least a share of the Big Ten title. It is the Illini's 17th conference championship in school history and the fourth time the Illini have won back-to-back league titles. Head coach Bruce Weber becomes the fourth Big Ten coach to lead his team to league titles in his first two years at the helm. Illinois will become the outright Big Ten champions for the second straight season with either a win next Thursday against Purdue or at Ohio State on March 6.
2. Illinois improves to 28-0 on the season, the third-best undefeated record in Big Ten history. The Illini have now won 24 straight Big Ten games and are three wins away from tying the single-season school record for victories in a season.
3. The Illini increase their winning streak at the Assembly Hall to 20 games, and improve to 65-2 (.970) at the Hall over the last five seasons. Illinois is 77-3 (.962) at home over the last six seasons.
4. Illinois shot a blistering 18-for-30 (.600) in the first half tonight. It was the sixth time this season the Illini have shot 60 percent or better in the first half.
5. Northwestern's 22 points in the first half are the fewest points allowed by Illinois in a first half this season.
6. Dee Brown broke out early against Northwestern, scoring 12 points in the first 10:01 of tonight's game. Brown added a layup on the next possession for 14 points in the first 10:25. Brown finished with 20 points, his second 20-point game this season and 11th for his career.
7. With his fourth three-pointer tonight, Brown rose to third all-time on the career three-pointers made list. Brown passed Kiwane Garris (189) and Sean Harrington (191) tonight, finishing the game with six and 194 in his career.
8. The Illini continued their ascent up the all-time scoring list. With his 20 points tonight, Brown jumped to No. 23 with 1,210 career points and is tied with Audie Matthews. Luther Head's 14 points tonight give him 1,132 career points, jumping three spots to No. 29 all-time. Deron Williams rose two spots to 41st all-time with his 13 points tonight and 972 for his career.
9. Roger Powell Jr. finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds tonight, his second double-double this season and fourth of his career. He also recorded a double-double against Arkansas on Dec. 4.
10. Brown and Powell combined to score 22 of Illinois' first 28 points tonight. The duo combined for 27 first-half points on 11-for-14 shooting, including Brown's 5-for-6 accuracy behind the arc.
11. Four Illinois players scored in double figures tonight, for the 18th time this season.
12. The 36-point margin of victory was the second largest of the year, behind Illinois' 37-point win over Valparaiso on December 19. Illinois has won 24 of 28 games by double figures and is outscoring its opponents by 17.9 per game.
13. The Illini held Northwestern to only one made three-point field goal, which is the fewest allowed this season.
14. Illinois' 61 percent three-point shooting for the game was the highest for the season, blowing away the previous season of high .545 against Delaware St. in the season opener.
15. Illinois had 22 assists on 32 field goals on the evening, assisting on 69 percent of their baskets. On the season, the Orange and Blue have assisted on 534 of their 815 baskets for 66 percent. Illinois never trailed Northwestern in tonight's win. For the season, Illinois has only trailed for 92:16 out of 1,125 minutes played. Illinois has not trailed in the second half in 24 of 28 games.