CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Andrej Stojakovic and Stefan Vaaks each scored 20 points Monday night as No. 3 Illinois opened its season with a 120-45 win over Fairleigh Dickinson.
The Fighting Illini made a program-record 19 3-pointers, had six players score in double figures and outrebounded Fairleigh Dickinson 65-21.
The 75-point margin of victory was the largest for Illinois (1-0) at the State Farm Center, which opened in 1963. The Illini fell seven points short of tying the school record for points in a game.
Quinton Coleman had 13 points and 10 rebounds, Ethan Brown added 12 points and nine rebounds, and Zavier Zens also finished with 12 points for Illinois — each in his collegiate debut.
Tomislav Ivisic scored 10 in the 7-footer’s 30th game with multiple 3s.
David Jevtic had 13 points for Fairleigh Dickinson (0-1), which shot 28% from the field (17 of 61).
Illinois played without AP preseason All-American David Mirkovic. The 6-foot-9 sophomore forward underwent an appendectomy Saturday and is out indefinitely. Mirkovic also is recovering from early August foot surgery.
The Illini’s injured list grew Monday when Jake Davis hurt his shoulder midway through the first half and did not return.
Illinois went on a 24-0 run late in the first half, during which Fairleigh Dickinson called its final timeout, and led 67-20 at halftime. The teams attempted a combined 48 3-pointers in the first half, with the Illini going 12 of 31 and the Knights 1 of 17.
The Illini improved to 108-14 in season openers. They’ve won 10 straight since Brad Underwood’s first season as coach in 2017.
Farleigh Dickinson finished 11-21 last season. The Knights have had three straight losing seasons since upsetting No. 1 seed Purdue as a No. 16 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Up next
Fairleigh Dickinson: Plays at Butler on Wednesday.
Illinois: Will host Penn on Thursday.
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