Overview
- Illinois opened its season Monday night with a 120–45 win over Fairleigh Dickinson, a 75-point margin that was the largest at the State Farm Center.
- The Illini made a program-record 19 three-pointers and had six players score in double figures while all 13 players who entered the game scored.
- Illinois dominated the glass, outrebounding FDU 65–21, and held the Knights to about 28% shooting as Fairleigh Dickinson managed only a few bright moments from David Jevtic.
- David Mirkovic did not play after an emergency appendectomy the day before and Jake Davis left with a shoulder injury, leaving short-term availability and rotation questions for coach Brad Underwood.
- Coming off a Final Four run, Illinois’s performance reinforced its national contender status and suggests strong depth, but Mirkovic’s recovery and Davis’s shoulder will shape who plays when the Illini host Penn.