Illini Blowout Oregon, Secure Triple Bye

0:00On March 4th, number 11, Illinois dominated Oregon with an 80-54 win on Tuesday night. Andrej Stohakovic sparked the bench with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Davy Merkovic shipped in 19 points and 7 rebounds, while Keaton Wagler added 11 points, 6 boards and 5 assists. The Alini bench poured in 40 points to Oregon's mere 14. Illinois improved to 23 and 7 overall, and 14 and 5 in the Big 10. There now won victory from securing a triple buy and quarter-final spot in next week's tournament. Meanwhile, it was Senior Night in Champagne, where the whole team wrapped up a strong 14-3 record. Oregon fell to 11-19, 4-15 in conference play. The ducks have dropped all-8 games against top 25 foes this season. Illinois erased an early deficit with a 21-to-nothing run, leading 41-to-21 at halftime. They later stretched the gap with a 15-to-nothing burst, hitting 63-37.

1:00Oregon hosts Washington on Saturday, and Illinois travels to Maryland on Sunday. This blowout keeps the Alini rolling toward a deep tournament run.