5 big observations from the Illinois basketball win over Eastern Illinois

4. Illinois doesn’t have holes on the team

Early in the season, a new team is still trying to feel things out and gel. This is tough because there are so many new players on the team.

Illinois took that to another level. All but one player on the court is new to the program. As a fan, I have to get used to names and faces, but there is one thing that really stuck out to me about the team as a whole.

This program doesn’t have holes on the roster. Illinois can attack you from anywhere and every way.

The Illini lit up Eastern Illinois from three-point range on Monday. We shot 42 attempts and converted them at a clip of 38.1%. That is a great number. But with that type of shooting, the paint will struggle, right?

No, Illinois has two big men in Tomislav Ivisic and Morez Johnson Jr. that could go down as one of the best one-two punches in the paint in program history.

I thought the Illini might have some trouble moving the ball around this season. That isn’t the case at all, though. In fact, Illinois wowed me multiple times on Monday with passes. We move the ball well and efficiently.

With teams in the past, I have always thought there were holes on the team. We needed more shooting or more paint presence or we didn’t have a point guard. That couldn’t be further from the truth in 2024-25. Illinois doesn’t have weaknesses.