It’s difficult to put much stock into Tuesday’s regular season opener against Jackson State. Mostly because the game resembled the previous exhibition games more than the upcoming regular season.
In front of fans at State Farm Center for the first time in 20 months, and without Kofi, Trent, Curbelo, or Hutcherson, No. 11 Illinois battled and held off Jackson State in a sluggish season opener, with the Illini winning 71-47.
Though the Illini pulled away late, they spent much of the game grinding out defensive stops and looking for a go-to ballhandler and scorer. At times, Illinois looked to Coleman Hawkins to bring the ball up and relied on freshmen Rj Melendez, Luke Goode, and Brandin Podziemski to play significant minutes.