Orange crush

Good morning! How do you know that college football is starting to wind down? The SEC is talking more and more about college hoops.

Let’s get to Thursday’s news.

1. Illinois gets statement win out West

The Game of the Night didn’t really end up that way.

No. 9 Oregon hosted No. 22 Illinois in what should’ve been an entertaining, dramatic game between two of the Big Ten’s most talented teams. Turns out it was just an Illinois showcase.

Illinois’ 109-77 win marked the largest margin of victory ever by a road team against a Top 10 opponent. Oregon hung with the Illini for the first half, the second half opened with a 22-6 run, and things got out of hand from there.

Illinois (10-3, 2-1 in Big Ten) dropped 64 second-half points in a team effort. It was 58% from the field and 16-of-29 from 3-point range. Tre White led the team with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Ben Humrichous (18) and Kylan Boswell (15) each made four 3s. In all six players hit double figures.

Illinois is now one of four teams ranked in the KenPom’s top 15 in both offense and defense. And ever since it gave up 100 points in a loss to Alabama, it’s been on a roll, with just an overtime loss at Northwestern and a two-point defeat to No. 1 Tennessee as their only blemishes. In a Big Ten that looks to be wide open at the top, the Illini made a case they should be the team to beat.

So much for Oregon (12-2, 1-2) forgetting about its CFP blowout.

Nate Bittle had 13 points and five rebounds, while Supreme Cook had a team-high 20 points off the bench in 19 minutes. Coach Dana Altman didn’t have much to say about the deflating home loss other than being “embarrassed.”

The Ducks have an important weekend game coming up at home against Maryland, which is now a bounce-back game for both teams after what happened to the Terps out West on Thursday night.

2. Plenty of other drama throughout the Big Ten

While the headliner Big Ten game was a blowout, plenty of other league games were notable.

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