In assessing the difference between Wednesday’s 75-57 win over Michigan and the nine losses the Illini have compiled so far this season, senior forward Brian Randle said it may have something to do, well, with his new ‘do.

“I cut my hair, maybe that’s it,” he said.

Whether or not that was the case, one thing’s for sure: Michigan head coach John Beilien’s touted 1-3-1 zone defensive scheme couldn’t contain the Illinois offense on a night where the Illini were clicking both on the perimeter and in the paint.

“They passed up a lot of opportunities to look for somebody a little more open,” Beilien said, “and I think that’s the mark of a good team.”

Having lost five straight and three in a row at home, it seemed that facing Beilien’s zone could have posed problems for the Illini, especially seeing it for the first time.

What happened instead was the Illini snapped off an 11-3 run in the first six minutes, all coming from inside the three-point stripe, and later relied on clutch outside shooting to put the game away.

The Illini kept finding ways around the Michigan defensive attack, led by 19 points apiece from Shaun Pruitt and Brian Randle. Both were effective in the paint early, benefiting from crisp passing – sometimes three or four in a matter of a few seconds – that found them open for easy buckets.

Randle had two dunks in the first four minutes and Pruitt kept calling for the ball deep into the second half. Consecutive Pruitt dunks with just over six minutes to play made the score 60-44 and all but clinched the victory.

Even reserve center Mike Tisdale was good for five points. Somehow, the big men sloshing around under the basket were virtually unaffected by Michigan’s Ekpe Udoh — the long-armed shot-blocker averaging over three blocks per contest.

When the inside points subsided, the Illini found Randle from long range – or Trent Meacham, or Demetri McCamey, or Calvin Brock. The Illini shot 42.9 percent from three. Randle and Meachem both had two three-pointers, Brock and McCamey, the Illini’s second leading scorer in Big Ten play, both had one.

Fresh crowd

Head coach Bruce Weber said the fans, fresh off a month-long break, played a role in getting the Illini off to a fast start.

“I thought the crowd was good, we got the students back,” Weber said. “(The players were) much more juiced up in the locker room, and I think that’s why they got the good start.”

Fans came ready to dispute calls early. One called on a Brian Randle block attempt in the first half elicited boos.

A few questionable out-of-bounds calls irked fans, and the collectively angry crowd erupted with five and a half minutes to play after put-back attempts by Calvin Brock and Shaun Pruitt appeared hampered by immense body contact. The call gave the ball to Michigan with the score 60-49 in the Illini favor.

When referees called Michigan’s star freshman Manny Harris for an obvious body wrap-up with three minutes to play, the crowd was somewhat jubilant.

If it was any consolation, during a television time out with four minutes left in the first half, Chicago Tribune writer Teddy Greenstein presented Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall with the Silver Football award, given out by the Tribune annually to the Big Ten MVP.

Mendenhall took the opportunity to address the Illini faithful, packed in tight as usual, with a goodbye message.

“You know, it’s real nice to be in Assembly Hall and see orange,” Mendenhall said. “And you know our football team had a great season this year and that’s due in part to you all.

“As most of you know I decided to pursue my dream and go to the NFL. However, at the end of the day I’ll receive my degree and the U of I will always be home here.”

“We love you,” he added. “And we’ll see you.”

Former Illini Red Grange earned the award in its inaugural year, 1924.

Harris halted

When Brock wasn’t in the face of Harris on defense he was making his own dent in the scoring column. Brock finished with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. When he played, Chester Frazier also matched up against Harris at times, and also grabbed eight rebounds in 25 minutes.

With Harris covered, Michigan reserve forward Anthony Wright took advantage of rookie Demetri McCamey to the tune of 15 points to lead Michigan, but he wasn’t able to take down Illinois alone.