It was game one of the season, but the men’s Illinois basketball team already looked like a juggernaut.
The Illini opened the game by suffocating Fairleigh Dickinson on defense, and the offense then buried the Knights. At one time in the first half, Illinois went on a 24-0 run.
This was not a fair fight. The Illini clearly have more talent up and down the roster, and even when we had the subs in, the game was getting more out of hand.
Illinois couldn’t do wrong on Monday night. We were hitting shots, taking care of the basketball, and rebounding at an elite level. All of this contributed to the 120-45 win over Fairleigh Dickinson.
Here are 5 Illinois basketball (M) observations from the dismantling of Fairleigh Dickinson
1. Quentin Coleman is the complete package
There is so much to love when it comes to Illinois’ showing against Fairleigh Dickinson. One thing that really stood out was Quentin Coleman and his abilities.
Coleman can do everything on the court. Coming into the Illinois program, I didn’t realize he was this complete of a package. High school stats are one thing, but can those transfer to the college ranks. Coleman proved they can.
Illinois dominated the contest, and Coleman was a big part of the win. He finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and three steals. What stood out the most about his performance, besides the great numbers across the board, was the fact that Coleman didn’t have a single turnover.
Keaton Wagler was a top-five pick in the NBA Draft last season. Could Coleman be the next in line to be an NBA lottery pick? His time at Illinois has started off on the right foot.
2. Illinois is a championship favorite if Stefan Vaaks is that good
It was less than 20 minutes into the season, and I already had someone tell me to, essentially, calm down about what Illinois was doing to Fairleigh Dickinson.
I will say this, if the Illini can get the Stefan Vaaks we saw on Monday night for the rest of the season, we should be the national championship favorite.
Vaaks once again came off the bench for Illinois. This surprised me, even though he came off the bench in the exhibition games. I thought he was for sure going to be a starter. With that being said, Vaaks giving the Illini massive numbers off the bench is so invaluable.
In the 75-point win for the Illini, Vaaks played 19 minutes and finished with 20 points, four assists, three rebounds, and zero turnovers. He shot 7-of-9 from the field and 5-of-7 from three-point range.
That is so much production coming from the bench. Vaaks is such an asset, and if we can get him to come near these numbers each game, the Illini could come away from this season with our first title.
3. The Illini need Jake Davis
As an Illinois fan, you know that everything can’t be smooth all the time. Illinois destroyed Fairleigh Dickinson, but it came at a cost.
Early in the game, Jake Davis came around a screen and hurt his shoulder. He didn’t come back in the game, and he wasn’t even seen on the bench.
Illinois was already missing Andrej Stojakovic, Tomislav Ivisic, and Lincoln Williams for some of the exhibition games. While we got Stojakovic and Ivisic back, Williams is still out, and the big injury is to David Mirkovic.
Davis not being seen after the injury worries me. Illinois needs Davis on the court, as he is our best three-point shooter. This injury is something to keep an eye on.
4. The Illinois rebounding effort was insane
The biggest worry for Illinois without Mirkovic on the court is rebounding. He led the Illini last season in this department.
On top of that, the Illini weren’t great at rebounding the basketball during the exhibition games. On Monday night, all of those worries were put to rest.
Illinois came out of the gates against Fairleigh Dickinson and made a statement. While we put up 120 points, the rebounding margin was more shocking.
The Illini finished with 65 rebounds against the Knights, while Fairleigh Dickinson had just 21 rebounds. That is a 44-rebound margin, which I am not sure I have ever seen that big of a margin for the program.
Illinois’ effort on the offensive glass stood out, too. We had 22 offensive rebounds, and each player was putting in a great effort.
This was a collective effort. Coleman had 10 rebounds. Ethan Brown had nine rebounds. 11 different Illinois players had at least two rebounds. Six of those 11 players had at least four rebounds.
Illinois is going to be extremely dangerous, but if we can crash the glass as we did on Monday night, it is going to be hard to beat us.
5. Illinois’ defense didn’t let Fairleigh Dickinson get anything going
The Illinois offense is going to be the big story. We put up 120 points and set some records. Don’t sleep on the Illini defense, though.
Illinois could have just focused on scoring and completely forgotten about defense. That didn’t happen. Fairleigh Dickinson only scored 45 points in this thrashing.
The Knights shot 15% from three-point range, and they only made 28% of their shots for the game.
In literally every facet of the game, the Illini dominated. We didn’t let them make a bucket early on. This helped by not giving Fairleigh Dickinson any momentum or hope that they could keep up.
This was a complete game for the Illini. We demolished Fairleigh Dickinson, and I think this is the start of something pretty special in Champaign.
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