PORTLAND, Ore. – Illinois’ bench looked like a blast from the past during Saturday’s second half. With No. 11 Illinois running away with the game, most of the starters had hit the bench. James Augustine, Dee Brown and Luther Head sat on the sidelines, talking and watching the Illini race to an 89-59 victory over Oregon.

Head, now a guard with the Houston Rockets, was in town to play the Portland Trailblazers on Sunday. The former Illini guard showed up around halftime and sat in the stands behind Illinois’ bench, signing autographs for fans and talking to players’ family members. When Augustine and Brown were pulled from the game, Head crept down to the floor to catch up with his former teammates.

“Two years ago (Brown) was the toughest sell (Weber’s motion offense),” Weber said. “Deron (Williams) was the easiest, and Luther went through some problems. He was here today, and it was great to see him.”

Head averages 9.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game for the Rockets.

DEFENSIVE DAY

Illinois once again relied on its defense to keep ahead of Oregon. The Illini grabbed 45 rebounds to the Ducks’ 29. Illinois held Oregon to 3-of-17 shooting from 3-point range and just 20-of-57 shooting overall.

Oregon forward Malik Hairston said Illinois’ crashing boards and constant pressure wore his team down.

“They’re relentless,” Hairston said. “They pressure the basketball well, they deny the basketball well, they’re a physical basketball team. They just capitalized on all our little mistakes, turned them into fast breaks and turned them into buckets.”

HEY ARNOLD!

Junior Marcus Arnold stepped off the bench to once again be a key contributor for Illinois. The center scored 11 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in the win against Oregon.

Arnold, who sat out the 2004-05 season after transferring from Illinois State, has become a role player for the Illini.

“He knows his role; he’s an unbelievable worker,” Brown said. “He listens to what coach has to say. I think that’s the biggest thing; whatever coach wants him to do, he does it. When he gets in there he understands he’s got to get buckets, take charges, get rebounds. If he continues to play his role, he’ll continue to play well for us all year.”

IF I COULD BE LIKE…J.J.?

The Illini spent part of Saturday watching No. 1 Duke crush No. 2 Texas 97-66 in a game where Duke guard J.J. Reddick hit nine threes on his way to a 41-point performance. Once it came time for the Illini to hit the court, Weber thought his players might have been influenced by what they had seen on TV.

“Maybe that was a little motivation for Dee to step up and play at a higher level, and he did it today,” Weber said.

FINAL FRENZY

While they spent Reading Day playing basketball instead of hitting the books, the Illini are still prepping for finals. The team has study hours in their hotel, and will get a rest from competition while the end of classes takes first priority.

“We’re students first as student-athletes,” Brown said. “It’s our job to go on the road and play games, but you’ve got to take care of your academics.”

It’s a break the Illini – who have not had two back-to-back practices sessions in three weeks – look forward too.

“James was saying he told the players, ‘Just get through this and we can sleep for two days,'” Weber said. “I hope they’re not going to sleep two days and miss an exam, but I think that was a little bit of a motivation. Get through this and then we’ve got a long stretch to kind of rest up.”

QUOTE OF THE GAME

“We told our guys we have to guard, especially early, and play hard. We weren’t going to be the same team, we had to come up with some kind of personality that we could hang our hat on, and it was going to be defense. In a way we might be better than we were last year, defensively.”

– Bruce Weber