Senior guard Frankie Sullivan finished with 21 points, but it wasn't enough to derail No. 12 ranked Illinois, who rode a 27-point performance from sophomore guard Tracy Abrams to an 81-79 win.
Playing in Chicago's United Center in a pseudo-neutral-site matchup, Auburn and Illinois exchanged leads nine times in the first half. The teams were tied at 39 late in the first half, but Illinois finished on an 8-3 run for a 47-42 halftime lead.
Illinois never trailed in the second half and at one point led by 11, but Auburn never let the game get out of reach and eventually cut Illinois' lead to one after Sullivan hit a three-pointer with 4:25 left in the game.
But the Tigers couldn't take the lead, and Abrams iced the game for Illinois with a couple of trips to the free-throw line. Senior guard Josh Wallace hit a meaningless three-point heave at the buzzer to bring the final score to 81-79.
Abrams finished with a career-high 27 points for Illinois and also added eight rebounds, five assists and four steals, as the Illini improved their record to 13-1.
Turnovers ultimately doomed the Tigers (5-7), who finished with 20, compared to the Illini's 11. Illinois also had a huge advantage at the free-throw line, finishing 27-of-40. Auburn only had 16 free-throw attempts and made 10.
Sullivan finished with 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting. Senior center Rob Chubb (13) and junior forward Allen Payne (10) also finished in double figures. Payne also had 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.
Auburn received an underwhelming performance from junior guard Chris Denson, who finished with eight points on 2-of-8 shooting and didn't hit his first field goal until the 8:55 mark in the second half.
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