Sports

White leads No. 22 Illinois to 109-77 blowout at No. 9 Oregon

Illinois Oregon Basketball Oregon guard Jadrian Tracey (2) and Illinois guard Tre White (22) go for a rebound during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Eugene, Ore., Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd) (Thomas Boyd/AP)

EUGENE, Ore. — (AP) — Tre White had 20 points and 11 rebounds as No. 22 Illinois made a resounding statement on the road with a 109-77 blowout of ninth-ranked Oregon on Thursday night.

Ben Humrichous shot 4 of 7 from 3-point range and scored 18 points on a night when Illinois went 16 for 29 behind the arc. Kylan Boswell also made four 3s and finished with 15 points for the Fighting Illini (10-3, 2-1 Big Ten).

Kasparas Jakucionis added 16 points, six rebounds and six assists. Jake Davis scored 12.

Supreme Cook scored 20 to lead the Ducks (12-2, 1-2), while Nate Bittle added 13 points and five rebounds.

Illinois built a seven-point lead at halftime before opening the second half on a 22-6 run to pull away.

Oregon took a 7-2 lead before the Illini scored 12 straight points, including the last six from Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn.

Takeaways

Illinois: Earned its first win over a ranked team this season after losing top-10 matchups against Alabama and Tennessee.

Oregon: Hosted a ranked opponent for the first time since 2020, but didn’t do much to cheer up Ducks fans still disappointed after their top-ranked football team lost 41-21 to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday. This defeat began a difficult stretch of five straight games for Oregon against teams in the top 40 of KenPom rankings.

Key moment

Illinois hit three straight 3-pointers to open the second half with an 11-2 run that increased its lead to 56-40 less than two minutes into the period.

Key stat

Illinois shot 58% from the field, including 55% on 3-pointers, while the Ducks were at 44% from the floor.

Up next

Illinois: Will visit Washington on Sunday.

Oregon: Will host Maryland on Sunday.

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