Robin Scholz / AP

Illinois' Dee Brown, right, drives around Wake Forest's Chris Paul. Brown and fifth-ranked Illini pounded the top-ranked Deacons on Wednesday.

A year ago, the holiday season wasn’t nearly as bright. Bruce Weber was still finding himself at Illinois, still operating in the shadow of the popular Bill Self, still trying to convince players and fans he was a big-time, Big Ten coach.

How’s No. 1 in the nation; would that be big enough?

If there were still any lingering doubts about the demonstrative and diminutive Weber, any remaining concerns about the state of Illini hoops, they were waylaid in a furious display of basketball art on Wednesday night.

Weber and his team showed their true colors at Assembly Hall, and if you were among the “Krush” there to witness it, “Orange” you glad they did? The Illini took apart the top-ranked team in the nation, Wake Forest, as if toying with a Sunday morning rec team. They ignored the previously lopsided nature of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge by turning it into a Champaign Jam.

They exposed the Demon Deacons (5-1), ran their record to 5-0 and ran a promo for being the country's best team. And they did it in a distinctively Weber way. They moved the ball rapidly, shared it unselfishly and turned it over only six times. They worked inside and outside, dazzling the sellout crowd with 3-point baskets, back door lay-ins and all the transition trimmings. They clamped down defensively on Wake Forest’s vaunted guards, sealed off the inside and forced the Deacons into low-percentage shots.

Illinois led 54-33 at the half and broke Wake’s spirit early in the second half. This was as profound and precise a basketball display as this young college season has revealed. “We got hot,” Weber said, almost apologetically. “We played with great energy. We talked about seizing the moment … and I think they rose to the occasion tonight.”

This wasn’t a “challenge,” this was an old-fashioned schooling. Forget ACC versus Big Ten, this was a team operating in a league off its own. This was a 91-73 mismatch featuring final score that was deceptively close. This was Illinois beating a No. 1 team for the first time since it beat Magic Johnson’s top-rated Michigan State team in 1979, the same Illinois that had lost its 19 other meetings with No. 1 teams. This was no longer a new coach and a leftover team trying to mesh, searching for identity. This was as polished as any Illinois team ever has been. This was Bruce Almighty.

“It’s a joy and an honor to play in a game like this,” said mercurial point guard Dee Brown, who had 16 points in the first half alone. “We found out we’re a pretty good team and a we can get better every day; this is a big win for us.”

The residuals from this night could well be realized a few months from now. There was more than pride and prestige on the line, more than a national television audience to impress. There was NCAA Tournament favor to be won, brownie points to be cashed in down the road in St. Louis, where the Final Four will be played April 2-4.

Illinois was No. 3 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll and No. 5 in the Associated Press rankings entering the game. As suggested, it could well climb to No. 1 on one or both of those lists for the first time since 1989. How it got there will not soon be forgotten.

“Obviously, if you want to be a No. 1 seed (in the NCAA Tournament), if you want to be a No. 2 seed, whatever, this is important,” Weber said before the game. “It’s a seeding game.”

What a team is doing late in the season often matters more with the NCAA Tournament committee, but a non-conference victory over a No. 1 team carries a lot of weight regardless of when it happens. Seeding has a significant impact in the first-against-worst world of tournament matchups. Since the “Big Dance” opened the doors to 64 teams, a No. 1 seeded team has not lost a first-round game.

Seeding also can determine where a team plays, which can be nearly as important as who it plays. As a No. 1 seed, Illinois likely would be slotted for a first-round game in Indianapolis or Cleveland. Better yet, it could wind up in Chicago for a regional final. Who knows, there might be a Wake Forest rematch awaiting.

The implications were wide-ranging on Wednesday. Illinois’ backcourt of Brown and Deron Williams out-shined Wake Forest’s Chris Paul and Justin Gray. The Big Ten Conference earned back some respect and Wake Forest showed it still has some kinks to iron out, the preseason NIT notwithstanding.

But perhaps the most dynamic declaration was made by Weber, a declaration the Big Ten title last season didn’t make nearly as loudly, a declaration that is now Self-evident.

When you come to Illinois, you come to Weberville.

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