LOS ANGELES — JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iriafen scored 22 points each and No. 4 Southern California defeated No. 25 Illinois 76-66 on Sunday to retain sole possession of first place in the Big Ten.

No. 4 USC will look for its 25th victory this season when the Trojans host the No. 25 Illinois. The Trojans have gone 13-1 at home. USC is 2-0 in games decided by less than 4 points. The Fighting Illini have gone 11-5 against Big Ten opponents.

Illinois' men's basketball team can look so very good. We've seen it – against Arkansas, at Oregon, against UCLA – enough times to really tickle the imagination. As coach Brad Underwood often has put it, the team's ceiling is very high.

The Fighting Illini didn’t show any fight in this game. Illinois suffered its worst loss in program history. The 43-point loss on the national stage at MSG proved that Illinois doesn’t deserve a spot in the field of 68.