By Lexi Shurilla, fightingillini.com staff writer | @SusanAlexisS

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Illinois held Michigan scoreless for eight minutes, the last 3:13 of regulation and nearly all of overtime, to storm back from a seven-point deficit and pull away for a 64-52 victory in front of a raucous State Farm Center crowd. It was the fourth Big Ten win in a row for the Fighting Illini.

Orange Out

The stakes were high as the Thursday night game against Michigan was announced as a sold out "Orange Out," encouraging all fans in attendance to wear orange in support of the Fighting Illini. Illinois set the State Farm Center attendance record of 17,087 and the game was billed as a "must win" for both teams by many media members.

"I had great peace of mind throughout the game because I'm watching our guys and they competed their tails off," Illinois head coach John Groce said. "They played with a lot of heart. That's always the starting point. I think our crowd was ridiculous. It was special."

Rice Returns

With 3:13 left in the game and Michigan up by seven (50-43), Illini fans could feel the game slipping away, but the Orange and Blue had a comeback up their sleeve, showing that they didn't have any quit in them.

Suiting up for his first game since January 3, there was no better time for senior Rayvonte Rice to get his first bucket in over a month. Rice sliced the rim for a layup at the 2:54 mark of the second half to cut the Michigan lead to five, 50-45. It was the start of an incredible Illini run that could prove big come March.

Michigan turned the ball over on its next possession which Kendrick Nunn took advantage of with a jumper with two minutes left. Rice pulled down the rebound after Michigan's Spike Albrecht's missed three and was fouled to pause the game and give Illinois time to draw up its next move. With the hot-hand of Nunn, the sophomore took the team on his back and drilled a three-pointer with 1:22 to play in regulation tying it up 50-50, making SFC the loudest it has been all season. With the ball in Michigan's hands for the final possession, a series of fouls and timeouts shook the Wolverines enough to make them throw the ball up where it was snatched out of the air by Rice with three seconds left in the game.

"It was big," Egwu said of Rice returning. "He's a big part of our team. The one thing he does for our team is his defensive effort. He's really aggressive. He's really on the ball and he brings that attitude on defense that we really need."

Rice's stat line wasn't impressive (4 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals), but it was the timing of those that made the difference.

"We thought maybe 15ish," Groce said of the amount of time Rice was expected to get in his first game back. "But I think the adrenaline of the game, the crowd and his desire to win, I thought he played the right way. I thought he tried to fit in and help us win and boy did he do that."

Playing with Heart

Egwu had 6 points, all in OT, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Kendrick Nunn kicked off overtime with a pair of free-throws to give Illinois the lead shortly into the extra session, a lead it never relinquished. Nunn was the star of the night, as he posted a game-high 21 points, the third time this season he has eclipsed 20.

"We just kept shooting and didn't lose confidence," Nunn said. "Stay poised and get it done on the defensive side and it will even out."

"He's a winner," Egwu said of Nunn. "The thing he really does is he's so unselfish with the ball. He takes open shots and he passes the ball to the open player all the time. He rarely ever takes bad shots. The one thing he does during the game is he will look you in the eye and tell you, 'Let's go, let's go." I think that's something that's really underrated about him is his leadership skills."

While Nunn was the fire to the offense, senior leadership came out in full force to put the Wolverines away. Egwu grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds - the second time this season he has had 10 or more in a game - and all six of his points came in overtime on 3-of-3 shooting. On Dee Brown bobblehead night - with a special message from the one-man fastbreak at halftime - the magic of Dee seemed to electrify SFC as senior Ahmad Starks showed how the smallest guy on the floor truly can play like a big man. Starks chipped in 12 points and had a game high four steals to match his four assists, and while Rice didn't put up his usual point total, he made a number of key plays in the final minutes of the second half and overtime to seal the victory.

"We're so completely different than we were a couple months ago, it's not even close," Groce said. "We're much closer and we're much tougher. We still could execute things better, but that gives us a chance to really be in that mix and reach our potential as long as we keep playing with this type of toughness and effort."

Thanks to stifling defense by the Illini, Illinois grabbed the lead in overtime and never looked back, eventually pulling out to a 14-point advantage with 0:23 left. The Orange and Blue held Michigan scoreless for the final three minutes of the second half and didn't let up in OT, holding the Wolverines scoreless from the field until they hit a pair of free-throws with 14 seconds to play in the game. Over a stretch spanning 7:59, Illinois outscored the Wolverines 21-0, were 5-of-7 from the field in OT - compared to Michigan's 0-of-6 - emerging with a 12-point win.

"There are three minutes to go and your down by seven, and [you realize] you've got to go now," Groce said. "To finish the game on a 21-2 run, I think our guys, more than anything else, it wasn't necessarily about execution, it was about heart. I thought our guys played with a lot of heart."