West Lafayette, Ind. ? Top-ranked Illinois found itself in an unfamiliar position heading into halftime at Purdue. The Illini were behind.

Dee Brown made sure that didn’t last long.

After not taking a single shot in the first half, Brown scored all 14 of his points in the second half to lead the Illini to a 68-59 victory over Purdue on Saturday.

“I told him to play like you’re No. 1,” Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. “I said, ‘Somebody has to step up and make plays.’ Dee took it to heart.”

He certainly did.

Trailing at halftime for the first time this season, the Illini opened the second half with a 23-6 run to take control.

Brown hit three three-pointers during the surge, the last giving Illinois a 56-45 lead with just over nine minutes to play. He also turned up the heat defensively, creating turnovers and opportunities in transition for the quicker, more talented Illini.

“We’re so balanced, I think they forgot about me,” Brown said. “I had no points, no shots, then I started hitting them. In the second half, they started to play me a little softer and I shot the ball.”

Luther Head scored 15 points for Illinois (16-0, 2-0 Big Ten), which came into the game outscoring opponents by 20.5 points a game, but this one was no gimme.

No. 3 North Carolina 109, No. 22 Maryland 75

Chapel Hill, N.C. — Rashad McCants scored 19 points to lead seven players in double figures, and No. 3 North Carolina earned its 13th straight victory.

No. 4 Wake Forest 103, Clemson 68

Clemson, S.C. — Justin Gray tied his career high with 31 points, and No. 4 Wake Forest won its eighth in a row. Since losing their No. 1 ranking on Dec. 1 at Illinois, the Demon Deacons (13-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) have averaged nearly 90 points.

No. 5 Duke 82, Temple 74

Durham, N.C. — Daniel Ewing and J.J. Redick proved to be the perfect matchup for Temple’s vaunted zone, combining for 46 points and nine three-pointers to lead the Blue Devils in the matchup of Hall of Fame coaches Mike Krzyzewski and John Chaney.

No. 6 Syracuse 75, Seton Hall 50

Syracuse, N.Y. — Gerry McNamara scored 23 points, and the Syracuse defense clamped down on Seton Hall’s top scorers. Syracuse (15-1, 2-0 Big East) improved to 11-0 at home and 20-3 all-time against Seton Hall (8-5, 0-2) in the Carrier Dome.

Hakim Warrick had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Craig Forth scored 10 points for the Orange.

No. 9 Georgia Tech 92, Virginia 69

Atlanta — Jarrett Jack scored 22 points to lead Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets (11-2, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) led by as many as 32 points and outscored the Cavaliers 48-31 in the final 20 minutes.

No. 10 Connecticut 66, Georgetown 59

Washington — Charlie Villanueva had 19 points and 13 rebounds for UConn.

Saint Mary’s 89, No. 11 Gonzaga 81

Moraga, Calif. — Paul Marigney scored 30 points with a career-high seven three-pointers, and Saint Mary’s hit a school-record 16 threes.

UCLA 95, No. 12 Washington 86

Los Angeles — Dijon Thompson scored 29 points, and UCLA rallied from a 21-point first-half deficit.

Stanford 87, No. 13 Arizona 76

Stanford, Calif. — Dan Grunfeld scored six straight points during a decisive second-half run and finished with a career-high 29, and Stanford snapped No. 13 Arizona’s nine-game winning streak.

Ohio State 81,

No. 14 Iowa 69

Columbus, Ohio — Terence Dials scored 22 points, and Tony Stockman added 19 in Ohio State’s win, dropping the Hawkeyes to 0-2 in the Big Ten for the first time in 11 years.

No. 16 Pittsburgh 66, Rutgers 63, OT

Piscataway, N.J. — Freshman Ronald Ramon scored a career-high 21 points to help Pittsburgh end its two-game losing streak.

No. 17 Louisville 86, TCU 61

Louisville, Ky. — Freshman Juan Palacios scored 23 points, and Francisco Garcia added 21 as No. 17 Louisville beat mistake-plagued TCU.

No. 18 Mississippi State 87, Mississippi 76

Oxford, Miss. — Lawrence Roberts scored 23 points, and Gary Ervin added 15 for the Bulldogs (14-2, 2-0 SEC), who shot nearly 57 percent from the field.

No. 19 Alabama 73, LSU 58

Tuscaloosa, Ala. — Kennedy Winston scored 21 points, and No. 19 Alabama held LSU without a point for nearly nine minutes in the second half.

No. 20 Michigan State 87, Northwestern 58

East Lansing, Mich. — Maurice Ager scored 18 points, and Paul Davis had 17 as Michigan State won its seventh straight.

No. 21 West Virginia 64, St. John’s 60

Morgantown, W.Va. — D’or Fischer had 18 points and three blocks as No. 21 West Virginia used its inside game to beat St. John’s.

No. 23 Cincinnati 69, Saint Louis 53

St. Louis — Armein Kirkland scored 22 points, and Jason Maxiell added 17 and grabbed nine rebounds as No. 23 Cincinnati beat Saint Louis.

No. 24 George Washington 81, Duquesne 57

Pittsburgh — T.J. Thompson scored the first eight points of George Washington’s 16-4 run late in the first half.

No. 25 Boston College 69, Providence 60

Boston — Sean Williams had career highs of 16 points and 10 rebounds.