EAST LANSING, Mich. – In what will likely be the last Big Ten game between former teammates Dee and Shannon Brown, the pair of Proviso East alumni stood out as the strongest players in Saturday’s contest between Illinois and Michigan State.

Illinois’ Dee Brown scored 20 points, dished four assists and grabbed three rebounds to lead the No. 10 Illini to a 75-68 victory. No. 25 Michigan State’s Shannon Brown pitched in 20 points, six rebounds and three assists in four fewer minutes than Dee Brown played.

“Its obviously a bigger game for (Dee) with Shannon (playing at MSU),” Illinois head coach Bruce Weber said. “He’s got a relationship with him, Tom (Izzo) had him in USA basketball. I’m sure they recruited him. And we’ve got a little bit of a rivalry, both have had a pretty good stretch.”

After the game, Dee and Shannon – who are not related – posed on the court for photos with fans and family members, including Dee’s mom and Shannon’s dad.

Augie falls just short of record

With a knee injury benching him early in the first half, James Augustine didn’t get the minutes he needed for stats that will eventually solidify his place in Big Ten history.

Illinois’ senior forward fell just three rebounds shy of becoming the first player in school history to score 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds in the course of his career. Once Augustine hits those marks, he will join just 10 other players in Big Ten history to reach that mark.

Augustine had 10 points and six rebounds in 33 minutes on the court. The highlight of the day came when he converted a steal into two key points for the Illini, down six at the time.

“That was a huge play, you’ve got to give him some credit,” Weber said. “The momentum’s taken away. James really made up for it.”

Brown up for another award

Dee Brown earned another honor recently, when he was chosen as a finalist for the 2005-06 Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award.

Brown is among 20 NCAA Division I basketball players – 10 male and 10 female – to be chosen as finalists for the award.

Michigan State’s Maurice Auger and Minnesota’s Vincent Grier were the only other Big Ten men’s players to make the list of finalists.

Fans can vote for their favorite candidates at www.seniorclassaward.com.

The winner will be announced April 1 during the Final Four.

Weber honored

Illinois head coach Bruce Weber was recently named a finalist for the Jim Phelan Award, which is annually given to the college basketball coach selected as the coach of the year.

Last season, when Weber was honored as several other organizations’ Coach of the Year, the Phelan Award went to Kentucky’s Tubby Smith. Weber finished second in the competition in 2005.

A 20-member panel headlined by ESPN commentator Jay Bilas and chaired by former Mount St. Mary’s coach Jim Phelan will oversee the selection process. The Phelan award will be announced during the 2006 Final Four.

Quote of the game

“I think he’s developed some toughness, and that’s something we’ve tried to emphasize, a mental and a physical toughness. I was kicking myself because the other day I was talking about how consistent he was and compared him to Brett Favre and Cal Ripken. Then boom, he gets hurt when he’s a few rebounds away from the 1,000 mark.”

– Bruce Weber on forward James Augustine, who sat out part of the first half with a knee injury