Illinois coach John Groce wore a bright orange suit jacket for the first time in his career Sunday, but nothing stood out more in Assembly Hall than the Illini's defense.

After preaching for most of the week about designing a complete game and touching up the defensive effort, Illinois held Eastern Kentucky to 36.2 percent shooting in a 66-53 victory.

"I thought our effort for 40 minutes was outstanding," Groce said. "We had a nastiness about us on the defensive end."

Shannon Ryan