Illinois Basketball: Grades from the Illini win over St. Francis (PA)

Illinois basketball welcomed the St. Francis (PA) Red Flash to the State Farm Center on Saturday.

The Illini did what they were supposed to do as the far superior team. They took on the Red Flash and blew them out. Illinois won 106-48 behind a program-record 18 three-pointers made to improve to 8-3 on the season.

Here are some grades from the Illinois Basketball win over St Francis (PA).

Offense Grade: A+

Illinois’ offense was absolutely fantastic against the Red Flash on Saturday. They showed tremendous ball movement for most of the game. We might have seen the best offensive possession of the season when the Illini made five passes before finding a wide-open Alfonso Plummer for a corner three-pointer.

The offense was led by, no surprise here, Kofi Cockburn who had 21 points on an efficient 9-of-11 from the field. Plummer, who I firmly believe is the best shooter in college basketball, added 19 points and 5-of-10 from downtown, all in the first half.

Jacob Grandison, who started in place of Coleman Hawkins, added 18 points on an efficient 6-of-8 from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point range, as he continues to be awesome on both sides of the ball.

Defensive Grade: A-

The Illini played solid defense against a team that has a lot to be desired on offense, holding the Red Flash to 26% from the field. Holding any time under 50 points is a solid accomplishment.

But, unfortunately, there is a stat that sticks out from the defensive side and that is offensive rebounds allowed. The Illini allowed the Red Flash to have 17 offensive rebounds. St. Francis (PA) only had 27 total rebounds. That can’t happen in any Big Ten games moving forward, so the Illini will need to get that corrected soon.

Overall Grade: A

The only thing to complain about is the offensive rebounds allowed to St. Francis (PA). Other than that, it was a great game by the Illini.

It was good to see some of the freshmen get extended minutes on the court, especially Brandin Podziemski who was one of the first players off the bench. Podz had an awesome dunk and hit the record-breaking 18th three-pointer.

One thing to keep an eye on is Hawkins moving to the bench after struggling recently. Brad Underwood is extremely tough on Hawkins, but that’s because he knows how good he can be. If the Illini are going to make a deep run this season, they’re going to need the best from Hawkins moving forward.

The Illini take on the Missouri Tigers (6-5) on Wednesday night for the Braggin’ Rights game. Illinois has lost three straight to Missouri, so you know they really want this one.