Illinois didn’t just open the season with a win Monday night. The Illini came out looking like a team that wanted to make a point, and Fairleigh Dickinson had no answer for it.
By the time the first half was rolling, Illinois had already ripped off a 24-0 run, and the game was never close after that. The final line said plenty: 120-45.
What made the blowout even more striking was how complete it felt. Illinois was sharp on offense, locked in on defense, and relentless on the glass. Even with the subs getting extended run, the margin kept growing.
Quentin Coleman was one of the biggest reasons why. He looked like the kind of all-around player who can tilt a game without needing everything to run through him.
Coleman finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and three steals, and he did it without a turnover. That kind of stat line jumps off the page, but the cleanest part of it might have been the zero in the turnover column.
He didn’t waste a thing.
Then there was Stefan Vaaks, who turned the bench into a weapon. He played 19 minutes and poured in 20 points while adding four assists, three rebounds, and no turnovers.
Vaaks shot 7-of-9 from the field and 5-of-7 from three-point range, and that kind of production coming off the bench is the sort of thing that changes what a team can be. He was still coming off the bench Monday night, even after doing the same in the exhibition games, which surprised me.
But if Illinois keeps getting that kind of lift from him, the ceiling gets awfully high.
The one sour note came early when Jake Davis hurt his shoulder coming around a screen. He didn’t return, and he wasn’t seen on the bench.
That matters because Illinois is already dealing with injuries. Andrej Stojakovic, Tomislav Ivisic, and Lincoln Williams were out for some of the exhibition games, though Stojakovic and Ivisic were back Monday.
Williams is still sidelined, and the big injury concern remains David Mirkovic. Davis is especially important because he’s Illinois’ best three-point shooter, so this is something to watch closely.
Even with that concern, the rebounding was hard to miss. Illinois finished with 65 rebounds to Fairleigh Dickinson’s 21, a 44-rebound edge that felt almost absurd in real time.
The Illini also grabbed 22 offensive rebounds, and the effort was spread all over the roster. Coleman had 10 boards, Ethan Brown had nine, 11 Illinois players had at least two rebounds, and six of those 11 had at least four.
For a team that had questions on the glass in the exhibition games and is missing Mirkovic, that kind of response stood out.
And while the offense grabbed the headlines, the defense did its part too. Fairleigh Dickinson was held to 45 points, shot 15% from three-point range, and made only 28% of its shots overall.
Illinois never let the Knights settle in, never let them build anything, and never gave them a foothold in the game. That was the kind of start that leaves no doubt about which team controlled every corner of the floor.
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Jake Davis shoulder injury changed the tone a bit, though, because he did not return after going down during the game. Brad Underwood said afterward that it did not sound good, and while the full diagnosis is still unknown, any injury concern is the last thing Illinois wants to carry out of a blowout like this. [Read more 🡒]
Brad Underwood Just Clarified Illinois Freshmen Who Could Matter Fast
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Quentin Coleman, Ethan Brown, Lucas Morillo, Zavier Zens and Lincoln Williams all got their own profiles in the conversation, which is a useful early snapshot for a roster that will need new pieces to surface fast. Underwoods read on the group suggests there are multiple paths to playing time, and the next step will be seeing which of those traits translates first once the season gets closer. [Read more 🡒]