"I thought that Egwu was all over the place defensively," Illinois coach John Groce said. "His stat line doesn't do him justice. He switched ball screens, he guarded perimeters and posts and covered up drives, blocked four shots; he was all over the place.

"He was really locked in, as were all of our guys for most of the night on the defensive end."

The Illini (12-0) needed that kind of effort from Egwu and the entire team as they were cold from the outside (6 for 23), and Eastern Kentucky (9-1) was causing all kinds of havoc of its own on the defensive end. The Colonels coaxed the Illini into a season-high-tying 20 turnovers and scored 17 of their points as a result.

Marcus Jackson