Runaway rout: No. 3 Illini cruise by Fairleigh Dickinson in season opener
- Story byThe News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
- Runaway rout: No. 3 Illini cruise by Fairleigh Dickinson in season opener
Nov. 2—CHAMPAIGN — Now, that's you open a season.
The No. 3 Illinois men's basketball team puts its new fast-paced style of play on display for the first time in its season opener, and the Illini operated it at peak efficiency.
Advertisement
The result? A resounding 120-45 win against Fairleigh Dickinson in front of 14,555 fans at State Farm Center on Monday night that set a program record for the largest margin of victory.
Illinois (1-0) scored the first 11 points of the game, enjoyed a 19-2 lead at the first media timeout, led 29-8 at the second media timeout with 11 minutes, 21 seconds left in the first half and went into halftime with a 67-20 lead.
So no monumental upset by the Knights (0-1), the program that became only the second No. 16 seed to upset a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament when Fairleigh Dickinson pulled off that improbable feat by defeating Purdue in the first round in 2023.
The Illini hit the 100-point mark with 8:52 left in the second half when Landon Davis drained a three-pointer for his first field goal as an Illini to put Illinois up 101-33. The program record for most points in a game — 127 against LSU on Dec. 22, 1988 — is safe. For now.
Advertisement
Illinois showcased its depth, too, on a night where starting forward Jake Davis exited the game early in the first half holding his left shoulder and did not return.
Brad Underwood played 13 players — David Mirkovic is still sidelined indefinitely and had an emergency appendectomy this weekend after a broken foot he sustained in late July kept him out during the three Illinois exhibition games and freshman Lincoln Williams did not dress — on Monday night, and all 13 scored.
Andrej Stojakovic and Stefan Vaaks both dropped in a game-high 20 points, while Quentin Coleman and Ethan Brown joined Vaaks in having impressive debuts with the Illini. Both Coleman and Brown came close to producing triple-doubles as Coleman scored 13 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out six assists. Brown stuffed the stat sheet, too, with 12 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Vaaks was instant offense off the the bench, making 7 of 9 shots from the field, including 5 of 7 from three-point range. Tomislav Ivisic and Zavier Zens gave Illinois six players in double figures after Zens scored 12 points and Ivisic added 10 points. Lucas Morillo (nine points) and Blake Fagbemi (eight points) also chipped in offensively on a night where Illinois shot 19 of 51 from three-point range. The 19 three-pointers and 51 three-point attempts are now single-game program records.
Advertisement
Illinois returns to State Farm Center on Thursday night when it hosts Penn, led by former Iowa coach Fran McCaffrey, at 7:30 p.m. in Champaign. It's a rematch of the 2026 NCAA tournament first-round game the Illini easily won 105-70 this past March and will double as the Quakers' season opener.
