You would think the Illini could discard this team easily, but that wasn’t the case. The Monarchs held strong for most of the first half. While Illinois did get out to a quick nine-point lead, Old Dominion stormed back and narrowed the deficit to just three points with 8:58 left in the first half. Illinois was done toying with them, though.
The Illini started scoring at-will after that point. They hit their first double-digit lead at 31-20 with 4:29 left in the half. That lead would extend to 15 points at halftime thanks to a three-point shot by Alan Griffin.