CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — On Friday night, Illini fans packed themselves inside State Farm Center for the first time since the court was stormed nearly 8 months ago.
The feel of that Big Ten-clinching win wasn’t quite matched on Friday, but Illinois fought off early struggles to toughen out an 87-52 victory.
Exhibition matches give teams the chance to work out a few kinks before the official start to the season. For the Illini, this opportunity proved to be more useful than most people expected.
Luke Goode’s injury last Saturday left Illinois with two remaining players who saw significant playing time a year ago: Coleman Hawkins and RJ Melendez.