While junior guard Luther Head and redshirt freshman forward Aaron Spears continue to prepare to contribute significantly to the Illini, the No. 12 Illinois men's basketball team can turn to junior forward Roger Powell.

During Saturday's 75-60 win over Temple, Powell recorded his second consecutive double-double — the second of his Illinois career.

"Last year, I had some down times," Powell said. "But for our team to be good, I have to come play every day. That's what I'm focused on."

Powell scored 19 points, shooting 6-for-7 from the field and 7-for-9 from the free throw line. Ten rebounds accompanied Powell's 19 points in his season-high 31 minutes played.

Head and Spears both played their first minutes of the season against Temple after serving a four-game suspension for violating team rules. Their suspension covered two exhibition games and the first two regular season games.

Neither player started Saturday's game, but Head played the most minutes of a non-starter with 19 minutes and nine points. Head showed rust, shooting 1-for-6 on three-point shots and 3-for-8 overall.

Spears did not shoot against Temple, but posted one rebound and one blocked shot in 12 minutes played.

"The sad part of all this is that Luther may have been playing the best basketball of all our guys in practice," Illinois head coach Bruce Weber said after Wednesday's game against Mercer. "If you saw the orange and blue scrimmage, he was very good."

Sophomore guard Deron Williams had 18 points and sophomore guard Dee Brown scored 16 points to accompany Powell in scoring double figures against Temple.

While Head and Spears started their season on the road against Temple, Illinois' other players opened the season on Saturday, Nov. 22, hosting Western Illinois.

Brown led the Illini, scoring 23 points in the season opener as one of five Illinois players in double figures. The balanced scoring attack propelled Illinois to a 94-66 win over the Leathernecks.

Williams contributed 11 points and recorded nine rebounds and eight assists to nearly claim the first triple-double of his Illini career.

"I plan on getting one someday," Williams said. "I thought I was pretty good (against Western Illinois). I didn't shoot the ball the way I wanted to, but eight assists and nine rebounds — that's pretty good."

The only Illinois player to out-rebound Williams in the Western Illinois game was sophomore forward James Augustine. Augustine established a new career high, pulling down 13 rebounds with 11 coming on the defensive end of the court.

On the eve of Thanksgiving, Illinois defeated Mercer 93-61 at Assembly Hall. Brown again led the team in scoring with 18 points. Powell followed by posting 16 points to accompany 10 rebounds.

Illinois suffocated Mercer with pressure, especially in the first half when the Illini jumped out to a 48-17 halftime lead.

"They have a lot of players that care about how hard they play," Mercer head coach Mark Slonaker said. "I thought we could be competitive with them, but their pressure in the first half was really outstanding."