Illinois Handles Auburn, College News

Illinois Handles Auburn

(Atlanta, GA) -- Rayvonte Rice scored 22 points to lead Illinois in Sunday's 81-62 beating of Auburn at Philips Arena in Atlanta.

Tracy Abrams added 17 points, five assists and seven rebounds while Jon Ekey had 14 points and six boards for the Fighting Illini

K.T. Harrell paced Auburn (4-3) with 23 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. Tahj Shamsid-Deen chipped in 13 points and four assists.

The Fighting Illini took control in the early stages of the contest and took a 41-17 lead into the break after they hit on 55.6 percent of their field goal attempts including 7-of-13 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes of action. Auburn was limited to 6-of-32 shooting from the floor in the first half.

The Tigers improved to shoot 51.7 percent from the field in the second half, but Illinois hit on 63 percent of its attempted from the floor to protect its advantage.

Although Auburn outscored Illinois 14-5 at the free throw line, the Fighting Illini still prevailed thanks to their 12-of-23 efficiency from behind the three-point line.

The 8-1 Illini host Dartmouth Tuesday night.

College Basketball News

Notre Dame will host Bryant University tonight following a win over Delaware on Saturday. Northwestern beat Western Michigan Saturday and will host Mississippi Valley State a week from today. DePaul hosts Florida Atlantic Thursday after a loss to Arizona State Friday.

Sunday, December 8 Scoreboard

NCAA Top-25 Men's Basketball  ("USA Today" Rankings)

#13 Oregon Ducks 115, Ole Miss Rebels 105 (OT)

Monday, December 9 Schedule (Time Central)

NCAA Top-25 Men's Basketball  ("USA Today" Rankings)

6:00 p.m. #24 Iowa Hawkeyes host Fairleigh Dickinson Knights