Illinois Illinois/Northwestern N'western Men's College Basketball recap on ESPN

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) _ Illinois coach Bill Self didn't think his team deserved to win. Nevertheless, he was glad the 11th-ranked Illini were able to put away pesky Northwestern in the final minutes for a 63-49 victory Wednesday night.

"In my opinion, the wrong team won. I thought Northwestern played harder than we did," Self said. "I think why we were more effective late is that Northwestern got a little tired."

With starting center Marcus Griffin sidelined with a sore tailbone, Illinois found Northwestern to be another kind of pain. The undermanned and undersized Wildcats scrapped and hustled and trailed by only a point midway through the second half.

Then 6-foot-10 Brian Cook took over for the Illini, scoring the final eight points in a 13-2 run and all Northwestern had was its 27th straight regular-season loss in the Big Ten.

"I think we needed somebody to score down low and be a presence and I tried to be that," Cook said. "They were a little undersized and I tried to use my quickness to get around their blockouts. And the ball just came to me."

With Illinois leading 44-43, Robert Archibald, starting in place of Griffin, the team's second-leading scorer and leading rebounder, hit an inside basket and then converted a three-point play for a six-point lead.

Then it was Cook's turn.

He muscled in a basket on the second try, picked up a loose ball and scored again, followed in another miss and then took a nifty pass from Frank Williams for another basket to cap the decisive run that made it 57-45 with just over four minutes left.

"`We kind of realized what kind of situation we were in and then we got after it," Williams said.

Despite Griffin's absence, Illinois dominated the boards 42-18 as Cook grabbed 11 rebounds. Williams led the Illini (14-4, 4-1) with 16 points and Cook had 10 of his 14 points in the second half as Illinois took over sole possession of first place in the Big Ten.

Ben Johnson had 11 points for Northwestern (7-10, 0-5).

"The mark of a good team is one that can turn it on," Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said. "They went on that run and they dominated and got all the second shots."

Cory Bradford started a a 13-0 first-half run for the Illini with a reverse layup and capped it with a 3-pointer _ extending his NCAA record to 82 straight games with a 3 _ as Illinois opened a 10-point lead late in the first half. The surge also included two tough jumpers in traffic by Williams and a dunk and follow by Cook.

The Illini initially had problems with Northwestern's patient pass-and-cut offense but pounded the Wildcats on the boards in the opening half 22-9.

Northwestern, despite shooting just 36 percent, still stayed close with its gritty play and trailed 32-25 at halftime.

Illinois has won 38 of the last 42 meetings between the schools, including 11 of the last 12.

ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard

Illinois Clubhouse

Northwestern Clubhouse

AUDIO/VIDEO
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Illinois' Brian Cook receives the no-look pass before throwing down the jam.
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Illinois' Robert Archibald ducks under the Northwestern defense and scores the bucket.
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Northwestern's Tavaras Hardy moves through the lane for the basket and foul.
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Northwestern moves the ball around before Ben Johnson puts up the deuce.
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