Illini make No. 1 Demon Deacons look illegitimate

Roger Powell Jr. scored 19 points, Dee Brown and Luther Head added 16 each and No. 5 Illinois Fighting Illini (5-0) made No. 1 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (5-1) look more like a non-conference patsy in a 91-73 rout Wednesday night in Champaign, Ill. The Illini led by double digits for the last 28-plus minutes of the game and were up by as much as 32 in the second half.

With 8:34 still to play, the “Orange Krush” student section broke into chants of “OVERRATED!” In the final minutes of the game, there were chants of “WE’RE NO. 1.”

(3) Syracuse 91, St. Bonaventure 67: At Syracuse, N.Y., Hakim Warrick and Josh Pace combined for 32 points and 21 rebounds in the Orangemen’s (6-0) victory over the Bonnies (0-4). Billy Edelin, in his first appearance at point guard for the Orange since last February, scored four points and assisted on three baskets in 15 minutes.

(9) North Carolina 70, Indiana 63: At Bloomington, Ind., Rashad McCants scored 19 points and Raymond Felton added 18 points as the Tar Heels (5-1) fought off the Hoosiers (2-1) in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Indiana was led by Bracey Wright with 18 points and Robert Vaden with 16 points and nine rebounds.

(13) Pittsburgh 65, St. Francis, Pa. 41: At Pittsburgh, Chevon Troutman led a decisive 17-2 run late in the first half and finished with 22 points as the Panthers (4-0) remained perfect by beating the Red Flash (2-2). Darshan Luckey led St. Francis with 19 points.

(22) Alabama 114, East Tennessee St. 77: At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Earnest Shelton scored 24 points and Ronald Steele had a school-record 18 assists to lead the Crimson Tide (5-1) to a rout of the Buccaneers (2-3).

(24) Virginia 48, Northwestern 44: At Evanston, Ill., Elton Brown had 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Cavaliers (5-0) to a win over the Wildcats (1-5). Virginia held its fifth straight opponent to 60 points or less.

Pac-10

Oregon St. 66, Portland 63: At Corvallis, Ore., Sasa Cuic scored 14 points, all in the second half, and the Beavers (3-2) withstood a Portland rally to beat the Pilots (4-2). Pooh Jeter led the Pilots with 27 points.

UNLV 73, California 72: At Berkeley, Calif., seldom-used senior Andy Hannan hit a short jumper with 0.4 seconds left to lift the Rebels (2-1) to a victory over the Golden Bears (3-2). Romel Beck led UNLV with 21 points.

Women’s basketball

(2) North Carolina 89, Wofford 51: Camille Little scored a season-high 24 points and La’Tangela Atkinson added 19 as the host Tar Heels (6-0) beat the Terriers (2-4). … (7) Texas 80, McNeese St. 26: Tiffany Jackson had 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Longhorns’ (3-2) win over the visiting Cowgirls (1-5). It was coach Jody Conradt’s 850th career win. … (8) Connecticut 75, South Florida 65 (OT): The Huskies (2-1) narrowly avoided their first two-game losing streak in 12 seasons when Barbara Turner got eight of her 23 points in overtime to help beat the visiting Bulls (5-3). … (11) Ohio St. 107, Ohio 37: The Buckeyes matched the record for the most lopsided victory in the program’s history when Ohio State (6-1) defeated the host Bobcats (2-2). … (13) Vanderbilt 96, Memphis 54: Dee Davis matched a career high with 21 points to lead six Commodores (5-0) in double figures en route to win over the visiting Tigers (4-1). … (20) Boston College 69, Holy Cross 61: Brooke Queenan and Kathrin Ress scored 18 points apiece, leading the Eagles (4-1) to a victory over the host Crusaders (3-3). … George Washington 62, (24) Villanova 52: Jessica Simmonds scored 19 points and tied her career high with 13 rebounds to lead the host Colonials (3-1) in an upset victory of the Wildcats (3-2).