COLLEGE BASKETBALL

ILLINOIS ROUTS TOP-RANKED WAKE FOREST

Roger Powell Jr. scored 19 points, Dee Brown and Luther Head added 16 each, and no. 5 Illinois made no. 1 Wake Forest look more like a nonconference patsy in a 91-73 rout last night. The Illini led by double-digits for the last 28-plus minutes of the game, and were up by as much as 32 in the second half.

The Illini have now beaten both no. 1 teams that visited Assembly Hall. They beat then-no. 1 Michigan State in 1979. Illinois (5-0) has now won 35 straight at home against non-conference opponents. Wake Forest (5-1) opened the season 5-0 and climbed to no. 1 for the first time in school history. The Demon Deacons won the preseason NIT last weekend at Madison Square Garden.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

BYU’S CROWTON FORCED OUT BYU

coach Gary Crowton stepped down after being asked to resign yesterday, ending a four-year stint with the Cougars that began with 12 straight victories and finished with three straight losing seasons. BYU finished 5-6 this season, and Crowton went 14-21 over the last three years, the school’s worst three-year run since the early 1960s.

INDIANA SACKS DINARDO

Gerry DiNardo was fired as Indiana’s football coach after a 3-8 season that ended with a 63-24 loss to Purdue, the Hoosiers’ seventh defeat in eight years to their state rival. DiNardo, who has two years left on his contract, had an 8-27 record in three seasons marked by declining attendance.

CUTLIFFE FIRED BY OLE MISS

Mississippi coach David Cutcliffe was fired yesterday after his first losing season in six years with the Rebels, a source close to the football program told the Associated Press. Cutcliffe was 44-29 in six seasons at Ole Miss, 25-23 in the Southeastern Conference. Cutcliffe was the only coach in school history to win at least seven games in his first five years.

FLORIDA TO PLAY IN PEACH BOWL

No. 20 Florida will play either Miami or Virginia Tech in the Peach Bowl on December 31 in the Georgia Dome. Peach Bowl officials decided yesterday to invite the Gators before knowing the outcome of Saturday’s Southeastern Conference championship game. Florida’s opponent will be the loser of Saturday’s game between Virginia Tech and Miami. The winner goes to the Bowl Championship Series as Atlantic Coast Conference champ.

PRO FOOTBALL

BARBER HELD OUT OF PRACTICE

Giants running back Tiki Barber did not practice yesterday because of stitches in his knee. Giants coach Tom Coughlin said the move was precautionary to reduce the risk of infection. Barber’s knee was gashed last Sunday against Philadelphia. Coughlin said Barber probably will play Sunday against Washington.

BUFFALO’S HENRY SIDELINED INDEFINITELY

Bills running back Travis Henry is out indefinitely and could miss the rest of the season because of a lower right leg injury. Coach Mike Mularkey said yesterday tests showed no break to Henry’s bone. But he declined to give more details. The Bills list Henry as out for Sunday’s game at Miami.

WILLIAMS TO FIGHT ARBITRATOR’S RULING

Ricky Williams wants overturned the $8.6 million award an arbitrator said he owes the Miami Dolphins for breaching his contract. Williams filed papers in federal court November 24 – the papers were not entered into the court’s computer system until this week – saying “the arbitrator acted in manifest disregard of the clear and unequivocal laws of Florida and Louisiana,” and that “enforcement of the award would violate well-established public policy.”

BASKETBALL

TWO ARE BANNED FROM PALACE AT AUBURN HILLS

Two men were banned from events at The Palace, the home arena of the Detroit Pistons, for what the organization says is their involvement in last month’s NBA brawl.

John Green, of Oakland County’s West Bloomfield Township, is accused of lobbing a cup at Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest on November 19, sparking the brawl. Charlie Haddad, of Burt, ran onto the court that night, Dobek said.

– Associated Press