PORTLAND, Ore. – Bruce Weber hoped Illinois would start its season 3-0. He asked the team to let home court advantage kick in early, before the team would inevitably falter on the road. He never anticipated a 10-0 record to begin the year, but after picking up a tenth win Saturday, the Illini are within reach of an undefeated non-conference season.

“My first thing on the board was energy, effort and enthusiasm,” Weber said. “I hoped we could get some of that out of them. I did not anticipate this. I was hoping we could find a way to gut out a game.”

The No. 11 Illini did not let travel affect their game as they steamrolled Oregon (4-3) in the 8th annual Pape Jam at the Rose Garden, easily collecting an 89-59 victory. The key in the latest win? Dee Brown, who delivered with 26 points, four rebounds and seven assists.

“Every time I go out there I’m going to go out there and play hard,” Brown said. “Today I was the guy making the shots.”

Brown is Illinois’ leading scorer, averaging 15.3 points per game. He has almost one-third of the team’s assists and averages the most minutes on the floor of any Illinois player.

While he has seemingly fallen into a shooting slump – before Saturday he had the second worst 3-point average of any player who had fired from behind the arc – the senior captain sunk 5-of-8 trey attempts against the Ducks and said he feels back in sync.

“The first nine games I was shooting from everywhere; they just weren’t falling,” Brown said. “But you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take. I’m going to shoot every game. They just happened to fall for me today.”

With Brown and James Augustine – Illinois’ top rebounder – the only returning starters from the march to the Arch, Weber said he would not have been surprised if the team showed more growing pains. The seniors, he said, have made all the difference.

“(Dee has) carried that torch of how hard you have to play, the energy, the effort, the focus,” Weber said.

Augustine’s exhaustion showed late, as the forward struggled to get up and down the court. He still led all rebounding with 11 boards, and scored eight points for the Illini.

Oregon simply could not keep up, dropping its third straight loss. The Ducks fell 76-75 to Vanderbilt on Nov. 30 and lost 71-57 to Georgetown on Dec. 3, five days before Illinois’ defense came through for a 58-48 victory over the Hoyas.

“I think it was, on our part, a poor effort all out,” said Oregon forward Malik Hairston. “They got on us quickly and we didn’t really retaliate.”

Illinois will now enjoy eight days off before facing Coppin Sate at Assembly Hall on Saturday. There are still four games before Michigan State heads to Champaign for the Big Ten opener, but the Illini have a big goal to reach in those contests.

“That would be a huge confidence builder for us,” Brown said. “Everyone didn’t know what to expect. They didn’t know what this team would be like with all our superstars gone. I think everyone just stepped in their role and they’re really working to be what coach wants them to be.”