EVANSTON, Ill. _ Alan Griffin received a standing ovation in an opponent's arena Thursday night.
True, a majority of the fans at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Thursday night were dressed in orange. But the Illinois guard had a night any basketball fan could appreciate in a 74-66 victory at Northwestern.
Griffin scored a career-high 24 points off the bench on 9-of-11 shooting, hitting three straight 3-pointers in the second half and bringing down the house with a spectacular dunk. Griffin was 6 of 8 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Northwestern dropped its 12th straight game as Illinois (19-9, 11-6 Big Ten) had too much fire. Pat Spencer led the Wildcats (6-21, 1-16) with 18 points, and Miller Kopp added 14.
