Last March, Illinois started its run to the Final Four by beating Penn 105-70 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, behind 29 points and 17 rebounds from David Mirkovic. On Thursday night, Fran McCaffery brought the Quakers to Champaign for a rematch.
It went about the same. No. 3 Illinois won 112-70 at State Farm Center, scoring 100-plus for the second straight game. And it did it without Mirkovic, without Jake Davis, and with four freshmen in double figures.
Quentin Coleman summed up the week in three words: "It's next man up."
First, the Bad News From the Opener
We didn't get a separate recap up for Monday's opener, so here's the quick version. Illinois beat Fairleigh Dickinson 120-45. The 75-point margin is the largest in program history, and the Illini also set a school record with 19 three-pointers. Stojakovic was back from his head injury and scored 20 on 9-of-11 shooting in only 20 minutes, Stefan Vaaks scored 20 off the bench with five threes, and Illinois led 67-20 at halftime.
But the night came with a big cost. Early in the game, Jake Davis hurt his left shoulder fighting through a screen. Video caught him telling athletic trainer Justin Games, "It's out." He separated the shoulder, had surgery on Wednesday, and is out indefinitely. Underwood said, "We just have to wait and see how everything responds," and that the staff is preparing for a scenario where Davis misses the rest of the season.
That's a gut punch. Davis is a Final Four starter, the team's ultimate glue guy, and one of its two culture carriers. We'll be pulling for him.
And there was more. Two days before the opener, on Saturday night, David Mirkovic had an emergency appendectomy, on top of his recovery from August foot surgery. Underwood hasn't given a return timeline.
Then Came Penn
For about 10 minutes, Penn hung around. It was 23-22 with a little over 10 minutes left in the first half. Then Illinois flipped the switch.
Zvonimir Ivisic dunked off a Coleman assist. Stojakovic finished a fast-break slam. Vaaks picked a pocket and dunked it himself. Three breakaway dunks in 36 seconds, and the crowd was on its feet. The Illini went on an 18-1 run, Penn went nearly six minutes without a field goal (0-for-10), and the lead was 23 at the break.
McCaffery explained the problem afterward: "They're a really difficult team to defend because it starts in transition."
Penn's 29.1% shooting was the worst in McCaffery's tenure there. Illinois won the boards by 29 and scored 66 in the paint. The one blemish: 19 turnovers. McCaffery noticed, saying that "very rarely" does a team take 13 more shots, force 19 turnovers, and still lose by 40.
Stojakovic Sets the Tone
Andrej Stojakovic — 25 PTS · 9/17 FG · 5/5 FT
With his dad Peja in the building, Stojakovic scored 21 of his 25 points in the first half. That's his 10th career 20-point game, the most among active Illini. That's two straight games of 20-plus since returning from the head injury.
The Freshmen Take Over Again
Davis' injury pushed even more onto the young guys, and they delivered. Four freshmen scored in double figures, and six Illini overall.
Zvonimir Ivisic added 6 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block. Lucas Morillo played 15 minutes, and Landon Davis helped close it out late. Ten Illini scored.
Three Takeaways
1. Zens might be the next breakout
The Wisconsin Mr. Basketball came off the bench and hit four threes. With Davis out, Zens is the most natural fit for those wing minutes, and Underwood noticed: "He's got tremendous strength for a freshman." Zens said he knew he "needed to step up a little bit" with Davis out, and called Davis "a great player to look up to."
2. Coleman is special
Eight-of-nine from the field, almost all of it attacking inside the arc. Writing Illini went as far as saying he could become one of the best freshmen in program history. Coleman credited the pace: "With our pace, I feel like we broke them down."
3. Tomi is a passer now
Tomislav Ivisic scored just two points, and it didn't matter. He had a career-high seven assists, a team high. In an offense that, as Underwood said, doesn't run set plays, a 7-1 center who can make reads out of the post is a huge weapon.
Wait, Caitlin Clark Was Here?
The Indiana Fever star was in the stands to support her boyfriend's dad, Fran McCaffery. Coleman found out during the postgame press conference. He was stunned, said he had to tell his sister, and joked that she "brought the aura" for his 8-of-9 night. Underwood joked about holding a three-point contest to find the best shooter in the gym.
By the Numbers
8-0: Illinois' all-time record against Penn.
18-0: Illinois' record under Underwood when scoring 100 or more.
9: Straight seasons opening 2-0 under Underwood.
10: Straight home nonconference wins.
Up Next: The First Real Test
Illinois heads to Lubbock for its first road game on Tuesday, November 10, at 7 p.m. CT at No. 19 Texas Tech. We've got a full preview coming. Without Davis and Mirkovic, it'll be the first real look at how deep this young team actually is.
I-L-L. 🧡Reporting compiled from FightingIllini.com, The News-Gazette, The Daily Illini, Penn Athletics, Writing Illini, ESPN, ClutchPoints, CBS Sports, and the Chicago Sun-Times.