-0 Last weeks ranking: 12Scott Drew just finished beating

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Malcolm Hill made sure Illinois didnt step off the gas pedal Friday night so that the Illini could took care of business against Detroit Mercy, 89-69.The senior, who scored 25 points, led his team to a quick start after the intermission, when his team was up 39-30 and it seemed like the Titans would close the gap even more.Im always in an aggressive attack more, but this was one of those games where I needed to start strong in the second half, Hill said.Illinois (4-0) continued its strong start to the season in the opening game of the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament.The Illini had little trouble scoring, shooting 27of 52 from the field and 8 of 19 from 3-point range. Friday marked the second straight game the Illini had difficulty shooting from the free throw line however, finishing 27of 38.Tracy Abrams continued to have a strong return to basketball, scoring 15 points and finishing with four rebounds, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range.Groce knows the importance a balanced offense can have on his team.If you can have a balance of paint touches with that outside shooting, it puts opponents in dilemmas, Groce said.Detroit Mercy (1-2) had trouble keeping up with Illinois fast offensive pace from the start of the game. The Titans never led.Josh McFolley and Jaleel Hogan both led the way with 16 points for a team that finished shooting 43 percent from the field and 24 percent from beyond the arc.The Titans fell behind in most categories against the Illini, but Detroit Mercy head coach Bacari Alexander felt Illinois won the game down in the post, where the Illini won the rebound battle 39-29.They took advantage of those opportunities (in the post), Alexander said. (But) I like the direction this team is going in.BIG PICTUREIllinois: The Illini have played as they should against the type of opponents theyve faced so far this year. The team has one game left against relatively easy competition before facing No. 19 West Virginia at the Barclays Center in New York.Detroit Mercy: Although the game was never really close after the first few minutes, the Titans found some scoring opportunities and will need to continue to do that in the rest of the tournament.ROLE PLAYERGroce thought bench player D.J. Williams had his best overall performance of the year. The sophomore wing scored six points.LETDOWNAfter a strong start to the season, center Maverick Morgan had his worst night of the season, finishing with six points and zero rebounds and fouling out with more than five minutes left in the game.UP NEXTIllinois will continue play in the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament when it hosts Winthrop in Champaign on Monday.Detroit Mercy will try to bounce back Monday when it travels to Florida State to play its second game in the NIT Season Tip-Off.---More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org Lance McCullers Astros Jersey . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. Jake Marisnick Jersey . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. http://www.baseballastrosproshop.com/brad-peacock-astros-jersey/ . -- Gus Malzahn finally had his day in Fayetteville. Aledmys Diaz Jersey . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Michael Brantley Astros Jersey .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. Putting Indiana in the top spot last week didnt exactly work out well -- not after Tom Creans team went down the road to IPFW and lost, 24 hours after being elevated to No. 1 in the Power Rankings.Power Rankings are compiled primarily by what has happened on the court, and Indiana, as of last week, had the most impressive victory of any top-25 team, a win over Kansas in Hawaii. Now the Hoosiers have the most unimpressive loss, which is why they have fallen out of the top 10.Its a tough call among three teams for the top spot. Kentucky is blowing teams out, albeit against lesser competition (the Wildcats tough portion of the nonconference slate begins in December). Villanova has the most impressive victory of the three, at Purdue. North Carolina won the Maui Invitational with wins over Chaminade, Oklahoma State and Wisconsin.The two surprises -- and a pair of newcomers -- are South Carolina and Butler. Frank Martins Gamecocks knocked off Michigan and Syracuse, while Chris Holtmann and the Bulldogs took down Arizona in Las Vegas.1. Kentucky Wildcats Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: 2?The competition hasnt been great, but UK has been routing teams. In fact, the Wildcats have won their first six games by at least 21 points. Its just the third time in school history that has happened. The past two wins -- over Cleveland State and UT Martin -- have come without Isaiah Briscoe (back injury).2. Villanova Wildcats Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: 3Jay Wrights team has won its past three without Phil Booth, who is dealing with a left knee injury. Wright said Booth wont play Tuesday against Penn, the start of Big Five play, but is hopeful he will return against St. Joes on Dec. 3.3.?North Carolina Tar Heels Record: 7-0 Last weeks ranking: 7?The Tar Heels pounded Chaminade, Oklahoma State and Wisconsin to win the Maui Invitational, which bodes well for UNC fans. The past two times Roy Williams has claimed the event, the Tar Heels have won the national title -- in 2005 and 2009.4. Kansas Jayhawks Record: 5-1 Last weeks ranking: 4 Bill Self sent a message to his starting big men, Carlton Bragg and Landen Lucas, following wins over UAB and Georgia. He went with a four-guard lineup in a rout of UNC Asheville, inserting big man Udoka Azubuike for Lucas and guard Lagerald Vick for Bragg. The duo combined for 32 points and 12 boards.5. Duke Blue Devils Record: 6-1 Last weeks ranking: 5 Were seven games into Dukes season, and weve yet to see the frosh trio of Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden. But it was irrelevant in routs of William & Mary and Appalachian State.6. Xavier Musketeers Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: 8The Musketeers had never played Northern Iowa before and wound up playing them twice in one week. The first was a win in the title game of the Tire Pros Invitational in Orlando, and the latest was a resounding 64-42 victory at the Cintas Center. Chris Mack is starting to get much-needed depth with the return of versatile forward Kaiser Gates.7. Gonzaga Bulldogs Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: 9Sophomore guard Josh Perkins shined for the Zags in their run to the championship of the Advocare Invitational. Perkins had 18 in the win over Florida and was 3-of-6 from beyond the arc in the victory over Iowa State.8. Baylor Bears Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: 12Scott Drew just finished beating Louisvilles Rick Pitino, Michigan States Tom Izzo and VCUs Will Wade to win the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. Add a victory over Oregon, and the Bears have as impressive a résumé thus far as any team in the country.9. Louisville Cardinals Record: 5-1 Last weeks ranking: 6Pitinos team blew a 22-point lead against Baylor in the championship game at the Battle 4 Atlantis and wound up losing to the Bears. The Cardinals starting perimeter trio of Donovan Mitchell, Quentin Snider and Deng Adel is 20-of-90 (32 percent) from 3 thus far.10. Creighton Bluejays Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: 10 Greg McDermotts team is the only one that has shot at least 50 percent in every game this season. Talented redshirt freshman Justin Patton leads the way, having made 31 of 40 shots from the field for a 78 percent clipp.dddddddddddd11. UCLA Bruins Record: 7-0 Last weeks ranking: 17Freshman Lonzo Ball is the best passer in the country, but its still Bryce Alford who takes the big shot, as shown when he delivered the dagger in a win over Texas A&M to claim the Wooden Legacy on Sunday night.12. Indiana Hoosiers Record: 4-1 Last weeks ranking: 1Tom Creans team got dropped by a Summit League team. Indiana had OG Anunoby for only 13 minutes due to illness, but thats no excuse for losing to the Mastadons, even in Fort Wayne.13. Saint Marys Gaels Record: 5-0 Last weeks ranking: 11The Jock Landale show continues. The junior Australian was 18-of-21 from the field in a pair of wins over UAB and San Jose State.14. Purdue Boilermakers Record: 5-1 Last weeks ranking: 14 The Boilermakers made 37 of 75 (49 percent) 3s the past three games -- wins over Utah State, Auburn and NJIT. Sophomore big man Caleb Swanigan has four straight double-doubles, tied for the most in a row since Glenn Big Dog Robinson back in 1993-94.15. Virginia Cavaliers Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: 15 The Cavaliers defense has been ridiculous thus far, allowing an average of 41.3 points through the first six games. Senior guard London Perrantes was the MVP of the Emerald Coast Classic after wins over Iowa and Providence.16. South Carolina Gamecocks Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: NRThe Gamecocks posted back-to-back wins over top-25 teams for the first time since 2008-09 by beating Michigan and Syracuse. South Carolina held Michigan to 46 points and Syracuse to 50.17. Florida Gators Record: 6-1 Last weeks ranking: 19?The Gators were just 2-of-19 from 3 in the loss to Gonzaga. They are shooting a putrid 29 percent from beyond the arc this season.18. Butler Bulldogs Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: NRThis is the third straight year the Bulldogs have knocked off a top-10 team. It was North Carolina in 2014 in the Bahamas, Purdue last season in the Crossroads Classic and, this time, Arizona to win the Las Vegas Invitational.19. Wisconsin Badgers Record: 5-2 Last weeks ranking: 21The two losses have come at Creighton and in Maui against a top-five North Carolina team. In the two setbacks, the duo of Bronson Koenig and Nigel Hayes is 7-of-34 from beyond the arc.20. Rhode Island Rams Record: 5-1 Last weeks ranking: 23Hassan Martin is heating up, with a career-high 31 against Belmont, but E.C. Matthews has cooled off lately after a sizzling start. Matthews, who missed nearly all of the past season with a torn ACL, has averaged just 7.5 points per game the past two contests after making 72 percent of his shots through the first three games.21. USC Trojans Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: 25The Trojans were picked seventh in the Pac-12 preseason poll -- and depth could be an issue. For now, Andy Enfields team is healthy and talented.22. Iowa State Cyclones Record: 5-1 Last weeks ranking: NRThe Cyclones came back from an 18-point deficit against Gonzaga and had a chance to win the game, but were unable to get a shot off on the final possession. Deonte Burton is a tough mismatch. He finished with a career-high 29 points in the loss.23. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Record: 6-0 Last weeks ranking: NRIts the third-best start in the Mike Brey era for the Irish, and guys such as?Matt Farrell and Matt Ryan have made sure the Irish, who lost Demetrius Jackson and Zach Auguste off last years team, havent missed a beat.24. San Diego State Aztecs Record: 3-1 Last weeks ranking: NRBoth Malik Pope and Max Hoetzel made their season debuts in the win over Cal after missing the first three games, including the loss at Gonzaga. The pair combined for 25 points and a dozen boards.25. Oklahoma State Cowboys Record: 5-1 Last weeks ranking: NRSure, the Cowboys got blasted by UNC, but the Tar Heels are a top-five team. Jawun Evans is arguably the best guard in the country, and Oklahoma State has knocked off UConn and Georgetown.Dropped out: Syracuse Orange, Arizona Wildcats, Oregon Ducks, Michigan Wolverines, West Virginia Mountaineers, Seton Hall Pirates ' ' '