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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Perfection has its limitations. But for a half Sunday, Bruce Weber's Illini were the kind of team you dream about.

Even as Thursday's heroes at Northwestern, Demetri McCamey and Trent Meacham, struggled to find their rhythm, Illinois was strikingly dominant in building leads of 17-7, 25-10 and 36-15 at Indiana's Assembly Hall.

So while critics may linger on the second-half letdown, when it took a long three-pointer from Chester Frazier to extend a nervous six-point lead to 57-48, the preference here is to revisit stunning first-half plays that served as a near-knockout.

Nobody gets that particular anymore. There are too many possessions, so we search for an angle, make grand generalizations, ponder the big picture, and wrap our reports around the scoring leaders and late-game developments.

We don't really pinpoint what happened ... especially early. So when Indiana coach Tom Crean said, "Illinois exposed us. We didn't read the next pass and left them open for too many 15-footers. We had to find something defensively," let's review the early events that put Indiana in such a bind.

Quick to act

– With Indiana wary of outside shooting that deposited 13 treys on them Jan. 10, the Illini worked inside. Mike Davis scored twice and dumped down to Mike Tisdale for three more in a 10-4 getaway. It almost looked too easy.

– An ever-hustling Frazier made a darting grab off an offensive rebound and fed across to Meacham for an open trey, the only basket by Meacham and McCamey in nine tries. It was 13-7 and Meacham soon sat down with two fouls.

– Within moments, a diving Calvin Brock batted a loose ball to McCamey, who initiated the game's most spectacular play with a daring lob to a dunking Dominique Keller. Later in the half, the unorthodox Keller converted one of his unique hooks from the hip.

– More bench help arrived when sophomore Jeff Jordan deflected Verdell Jones' jumper – one of 10 Illini blocks – and Illinois made it 21-10 on a soaring tip-in by Frazier. In addition to playing stifling defense, the bustling Frazier built a line that ultimately showed nine points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

– Jordan, playing increasing like Frazier as he gains savvy, was spotted by Frazier as he shot through the Indiana defense for the layup that made it 36-15.

Same 'ol, same 'ol

The inevitable letdown caused it to get a little ugly later on. Consider that Illinois, which finished with a 17-2 run at Northwestern, piled up a 53-17 margin in slightly more than a half of basketball over two games.

Indiana outscored Illinois 37-29 in Sunday's last 32 minutes, and that's what happens in these often-extreme momentum swings. The home team becomes ultra-aggressive as the giant crowd goes crazy, and the leaders become passive. It's an old story.

But Illinois survived with plenty to spare, 65-52, and has gone 4-0 against Indiana and Purdue for the first time since the sextet of Harv Schmidt, Don Ohl, Bill Ridley, Paul Judson, George BonSalle and Bruce Brothers (sixth man Brothers was team MVP) did it in 1956.

Now the typical wrapup: Weber's Illini used their size to advantage, the Tisdale-Davis duo combining for 32 points, 16 rebounds and six blocks, and enter the last five Big Ten games in second place with a 9-4 record. If you need something to fret about, they never figured out Indiana's junk defense that wound up with two bigs zoning the middle and no one guarding Frazier on the perimeter.

"Chester took it as a challenge," Weber said. "He was shook a bit and he dribbled too much. We weren't prepared for it. But Chester got free for a layup and he hit the big three. He is our heart and soul."

Loren Tate writes for The News-Gazette. He can be reached at ltate@news-gazette.com.