<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Illinois 84, Arkansas 61 CHICAGO (AP)-- Deron Williams had 17 points and 10 assists and No. 11 Illinois rebounded from its first loss of the season with an 84-61 victory over Arkansas on Saturday. Williams, who had a career-high 22 points in the loss to North Carolina, left the game with five minutes to go and Illinois (4-1) leading by 27 points. He was greeted by a loud ovation from the partisan crowd that made the short drive up from Champaign, Ill. Sophomore James Augustine had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Illini, who took better care of the ball after turning it over 14 times in the first half against the Tar Heels. Illinois committed just 13 turnovers for the game and forced Arkansas (4-1) into 21 turnovers that lead to 25 points. The Illini led by 15 at halftime and scored three straight baskets to open the second half. Nick Smith hit a jumper, Williams caught a lob underneath the basket for a reverse layup, and then made a nice pass to set up Roger Powell to extend the lead to 21. Arkansas shot just 33 percent and trailed by at least 20 points for most of the second half. The Razorbacks, under second-year coach Stan Heath, were off to their best start in five years. Jonathan Modica led Arkansas with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting, and freshman Ronnie Brewer and Olu Famutimi each had 11. Dee Brown's 3-pointer capped a 10-0 run that gave Illinois a 14-point lead in the first half. They were Brown's only points of the half as the sophomore guard's struggles continued. Brown, coming off one of the worst games of his career, had 13 points but was just 4-of-12 from the field. Brown, the preseason Big Ten player of the year, was averaging 16 points a game.</div> Link Arkansas has looked downright awful. They almost lost to Oral Roberts and this game exposed them. Heading into the season some people thought Arkansas could wind up as SEC champions with all of the young talented they have. However, some players have failed to step up, mainly Olu Famutimi. After winning this game, I doubt Illinois will drop too far afterall. They'll probably fall one or two spots, but not too severely.
