EVANSTON, Ill. – Sections 303 and 304 of Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena roared.

“This is our house! This is our house!”

The Illini men’s basketball team’s student section, the Orange Krush, marked its territory. Its “sneak attack” road trip was planned in December. Krush President McKennon Biers never imagined it’d see the Illini rout the Wildcats 62-41.

From the outset, Illinois was getting its revenge. Northwestern’s Jan. 17 win at Assembly Hall was the beginning of the Illini’s tailspin that knocked them out of the top 25 and culminated in six losses in seven games.

Two-and-a-half weeks ago, Illini head coach John Groce was beside himself. He was at a loss for answers and admitted that his team’s back was firmly against the wall.

On Sunday, the two teams didn’t even belong on the same court, and it was Illinois that ran Northwestern out of its own building.

“It was definitely motivation,” Illini senior Brandon Paul said. “We got embarrassed at our place. They played hard, hats off to them. But we knew we weren’t that team anymore.”

Sunday’s pummeling was the abrupt exclamation of Illinois’ revitalization over the last two weeks, during which it defeated No. 1 Indiana, then-No.18 Minnesota and most recently stomped on the jugulars of Purdue and Northwestern in statement-game fashion.

In front of Sunday’s favorable crowd, which had a near 50-50 orange-to-purple ratio, it didn’t take long for Illinois to realize it would own the night.

After starting the game on a 7-0 run, the Illini closed the first half on a 10-0 run before opening the second half with a 16-0 run to embarrass the Wildcats for 26-straight points without a response.

The game was all but over before Northwestern mustered its first second-half point with 13:26 remaining in the game.

Groce pointed to team defense as the cause of the Illini’s struggles when the team was at its worst. On Sunday, Illinois put on a defensive clinic. D.J. Richardson scored 18 points and pulled down eight rebounds, but Groce’s focus after the game was on the guard’s impressive performance on the defensive end. Paul, known mostly as a scorer, only tallied eight points, but Groce highlighted his six rebounds and five assists to go along with his work on the other end of the floor.

“I think sometimes people, when they think unselfishness, they immediately think almost exclusively of offense,” Groce said. “But defensively right now, we’re just in the right position more, we trust one another more, we cover for one another better, we understand that we want five guys guarding the basketball. It’s not about if my man scores.”

Groce would only touch upon the strategically planned changes he and his staff implemented to stop Northwestern’s offense this time around. Northwestern entered Sunday’s game ranked 12th in the nation in 3-point production fresh off a valiant effort at Ohio State, where the Wildcats went 11-for-26 from 3 and nearly knocked off the Buckeyes on the road.

The Wildcats ranked 13th when the teams last met, and they were 8-for-15 from behind the arc in their 68-54 win at Assembly Hall. On Sunday, Northwestern made five of its 27 3-point attempts.

“They carved us up in Champaign,” Groce said. “That stuff’s hard to guard. They cut well. They screen hard. They move the ball. It’s very difficult to defend.”

This wasn’t an offensive outburst by any standards. Illinois only hit six of its 20 attempts from distance. It started the game 6-for-13 from the field, but ended the first half 11-for-30.

The Illini finished the game shooting 43.6 percent from the field.

That number was mostly made possible because defensively they forced 14 turnovers and attacked the rim in transition.

Northwestern sharpshooter Alex Marcotullio nailed a 3-pointer to draw the Wildcats within five with 4:52 remaining in the first half, but that was the last time the game was even remotely close.

This one was a laugher.

With a chance to sweep the series and embolden its marketing motto, “Chicago’s Big Ten team,” Northwestern saw a different Illinois team than the one it played in January. It was one thirsty for revenge and a chance to prove itself.

“The guys have bought in at a higher level,” Groce said. “The more time you spend with them, the more you connect with them. They’re starting to see how things fit together.”

Everything fit together on Sunday, when Welsh-Ryan Arena became the Illini’s house.

Ethan can be reached at [email protected] and @AsOfTheSky.