No. 19 Illinois blows by Monmouth behind 63-point first half

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The 19th-ranked team in the land looked very legit Monday night.

In the final feel-out game they’ll play before heading to Vegas and taking on some insanely tough competition, Illinois used lights-out shooting and impressive defense to propel them past Monmouth, 103-65.

The scoring barrage was led by forward Terrence Shannon Jr., who scored 21 first half points on 6-of-9 shooting. But Shannon wasn’t the only Illini to reach double figures in the half, he was joined by freshman guard Jayden Epps (15 points).

Overall, it was a incredibly impressive half to watch, as the whole team shot 76.6% from the field and 60% from three. Seeing this has to give you a lot of confidence…