Indianapolis ? After three straight blowouts, No. 5 Illinois was looking forward to its first real test Saturday against No. 24 Gonzaga.

Now it looks like the Illini will have to wait until top-ranked Wake Forest comes Wednesday to Champaign, Ill.

Deron Williams and Luther Head each scored 20 points, leading Illinois to an 89-72 victory over Gonzaga in the John Wooden Tradition at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The Illini (4-0) set the tone from the opening tip, using superior three-point shooting and suffocating defense to dominate the Bulldogs (3-1) and set up an early season showdown next week with the Demon Deacons.

“We just came out and tried to make a statement, show we’re for real,” Williams said.

They certainly did.

Illinois made 14 of 28 three-pointers and scored 29 points off 19 Gonzaga turnovers to turn the game into a rout in the first five minutes.

“We were thoroughly dominated today, in every phase of the game,” Bulldogs coach Mark Few said. “There were times it didn’t appear we belonged out there on the court.”

Adam Morrison led Gonzaga with 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Ronny Turiaf added 12 points and nine rebounds.

Illinois players, from left, Luther head, Dee Brown and Jack Ingram celebrate after a basket against Gonzaga. Illinois won, 89-72, Saturday in Indianapolis.

Williams got the Illini started on an 11-0 run early in the first half, and they never looked back. Illinois forced seven turnovers in the first five minutes, which led to 14 points and an 18-4 lead.

Gonzaga’s game plan going in was to get the ball down low to Turiaf, who was coming off a career-high 40 points in a victory over Idaho on Wednesday.

But every time Turiaf touched the ball on Saturday he immediately was surrounded by two or three Illinois players, forcing him to pass out of the post.

“They’re young, but we bothered them even when Turiaf had good position,” Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. “He was saying, ‘Get me the ball!’ But by the time they could get it to him, it was too late.”

Turiaf couldn’t handle the pressure. He had six turnovers, including one pass out of a double team that landed in the second row of the stands.

“Every time I touched the ball, there were two guys on me and three others watching me,” Turiaf said. “I tried to find my teammates and did a poor job … I did a pathetic job tonight.”

And his teammates just couldn’t pick up the slack. Morrison scored 11 points in the first half, but he was the only player at all effective against the deep and athletic Illini.

The Illini made 10 of 17 three-pointers and shot 55 percent from the field in the first half to take control.

No. 4 Syracuse 78, Siena 56

Albany, N.Y. — Gerry McNamara scored 29 points, and Hakim Warrick grabbed 15 rebounds as Syracuse (5-0) won its 29th straight game against an in-state opponent.

Warrick and Josh Pace each scored 13 points for Syracuse, which held Siena to 32 percent shooting and outrebounded the Saints 54-29.

Siena (0-5) is off to the worst start in school history.

Syracuse took an 18-2 lead in the first five minutes.

No. 9 Duke 98, UNC-Greensboro 44

Durham, N.C. — Shelden Williams had 16 points and 11 rebounds, helping No. 9 Duke rout North Carolina-Greensboro. Daniel Ewing and J.J. Redick also scored 16 points for the Blue Devils (3-0), who built a 20-point lead midway through the first half and never were challenged by their in-state neighbor from the Southern Conference. Kyle Hines scored nine points for the Spartans (2-1).

The Blue Devils had won the previous four meetings by an average margin of nearly 39 points, and they practically turned Saturday’s meeting into a collection of highlight-reel moments. Duke shot 53 percent and hit 15 three-pointers.

No. 10 Mich. State 102, Nicholls State 52

East Lansing, Mich. — Led by Maurice Ager’s 19 points, No. 10 Michigan State scored more than 100 points for the third straight game.

Kelvin Torbert added 16 points, Shannon Brown and Alan Anderson had 15 apiece, and Paul Davis had 11 for the Spartans (3-0). Michigan State will take a 105.3-point average into Tuesday’s game at No. 9 Duke in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

No. 16 Pittsburgh 93, Loyola, Md. 57

Pittsburgh — Chevon Troutman and Chris Taft dominated much-smaller Loyola, Md., inside at both ends of the floor and No. 16 Pittsburgh cruised to its third consecutive victory.

The 6-foot-10 Taft and the 6-foot-7 Troutman were in control from the start against Loyola (0-3), which hasn’t had a winning season since going to the NCAA Tournament in 1994.

No. 22 Washington 79, No. 19 Alabama 76

Anchorage, Alaska — Will Conroy had 18 points and six assists, helping No. 22 Washington beat No. 19 Alabama in the championship game of the Great Alaska Shootout. Washington (4-0) led the entire second half, but barely escaped overtime when Alabama’s Kennedy Winston missed a wild three-pointer at the buzzer.

The Huskies’ Nate Robinson finished with 16 points and was selected the tournament’s outstanding player. Tre Simmons, starting in place of the injured Brandon Roy, had 15 points and nine rebounds, and Bobby Jones also scored 15 points.

Pepperdine 75, No. 20 Wisconsin 61

Malibu, Calif. — Glen McGowan scored 29 points, leading Pepperdine to its fourth straight win. Alex Acker added 17 points and seven assists for the Waves (4-1), who defeated a ranked opponent for the first time since beating Gonzaga, 88-79, on Jan. 8, 2002.

Alando Tucker scored 18 points, and Kammron Taylor added 15 for Wisconsin (2-1).

No. 23 Florida 84, Providence 66

Miami — Matt Walsh scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, helping No. 23 Florida defeat Providence — the alma mater of Gators coach Billy Donovan.

l Box scores on page 5C