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Illinois vs. North Dakota State Final Score: Illini escape with 80-74 win over Bison

Illinois avoided disaster on Sunday by taking care of business against NDSU.

The Illinois Fighting Illini (1-1) battled through a horrible first half to escape with a __-__ victory over the North Dakota State Bison (1-1) at the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield, IL. Mike Thorne Jr. was Illinois' leading scorer with 21 points, and freshman Jalen Coleman-Lands followed suit with 15 points of his own.

Here are some of my takeaways from Sunday's game:

1. Illinois' defense is so, so bad

I've got some really bad news for you, Illini fans. Unless Illinois' defense shows drastic improvement very soon, they're going to have a hard time beating anyone on their schedule.