No. 25 Indiana snapped a three-game losing streak by scoring the game's first 15 points in Saturday's 96-80 Big Ten home rout of Illinois at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.

The Hoosiers (11-5, 1-2) reversed being outscored 13-0 at the start of a Tuesday home loss to No. 13 Wisconsin by hitting 5 of 8 shots - including a pair of 3-pointers - to open up the early 15-point advantage in just under six minutes.

The Fighting Illini (11-5, 1-2) missed seven shots and committed three turnovers before finally ending the drought with 6:17 elapsed on a pair of Jalen Coleman-Lands free throws.

Illinois never recovered as the closest the visitors could come after the disastrous start was a nine-point deficit in the second half.

Indiana junior guard James Blackmon Jr., who scored a game-high 25 points, attributed his team's strong start to defense.

"I think it was a mentality thing," Blackmon said. "We were talking a lot more. Guys were engaged and helping each other out. And then when we get stops like that, we get out and run it."

Another undeniable key was the Hoosiers' hot shooting, which included 13 of 25 (52 percent) from 3-point range. Seven players contributed long-range shots.

"It's just having a short memory about the losses, just continue to build each and every day," said sophomore center Thomas Bryant, who scored 20, including a pair of 3-pointers. "We can't listen to the outside -- we know what's going on in here."

Hoosiers junior guard Robert Johnson scored 13 of his 18 points in the first half.

A disastrous opening half for the visitors included another scoreless stretch in the final 3:54 as Indiana led 48-29 at the break.

"I thought the last four minutes of the first half were huge," Illinois coach John Groce said. "We had the media timeout, sitting right around 13 down, and I thought, 'Man if we can win this four minutes, we are in great shape. We've withstood it and have a great chance to win the game.' Then it goes to 19 (point deficit), two turnovers that led to four points."

The Hoosiers never cooled off in hitting 29 of 49 shots (59.2 percent). Illinois was 24 of 54 from the field, including 6 of 17 on 3-pointers.

"I know we had a good offense," Indiana coach Tom Crean said. "I saw more areas where we can get better over the next couple of weeks if we really, really stayed diligent with that.

"But everything being said with that, it's all about how we defend. And guys are defending it. And their feet are really moving and they're active."

Groce was encouraged by how Illinois tried to bounce back in the second half. After making just 7 of 24 shots before halftime, the Illini hit 17 of 30 (56.7 percent) after halftime.

"I am not a moral victories kind of guy, it is not my deal," Groce said. "I despise getting beat, but I will tell you that the way that they battled for the majority of the game after the start that we had, the fight that they showed, the lift that certain guys gave us off of the bench, and their response to adversity in a very tough environment showed me a lot about our team."

Coleman-Lands, a sophomore guard from Indianapolis, scored a season-high 21 for Illinois.

Illini senior guard Malcolm Hill scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half. He became the program's 10th-leading scorer with 1,544 career points, surpassing Andy Kaufman (1,533 in 1989-93).

But Hill picked up three fouls in the opening half, which limited the 18.8-point scorer to just 3 points before the break.

"It does not help obviously," Groce said. "I think he is certainly one of the best players in this league, one of the better ones in the country. It does not help when he has to sit like that, or you're subbing him. It does not help his rhythm, and that is not good for our team."

Senior reserve center Maverick Morgan also had 18 for the Illini.

NOTES: Groce's hometown is Danville, Ind., and he earned a mathematics degree at Taylor University in the Hoosier state. ... Indiana made a conference-record 19 3-pointers in last season's 103-69 home win over Illinois. ... The Fighting Illini have lost seven consecutive road games to top-25 opponents. ... Indiana has won eight of 11 against Illinois including four straight and leads 90-86 in a series that began in 1910. ... Illinois' nonconference schedule ranked second in the Big Ten. ... Indiana is second in the country in rebounding margin at plus-13.3. ... Since 2014-15, Indiana has averaged 9.5 3-pointers per game, most of any major college program.