10. Illinois (4-0)
There’s a new flavor of talent at Illinois and a strong offense was on full display in the opening week of the season. The Fighting Illini dropped 113 points in each of their first two performances in easy wins, but let’s not act like that was going to be the case in every game this season. In fact, the Illini were significantly tested this week but Brad Underwood’s squad passed the year’s first real test for them.
That big win came Tuesday, as Illinois won 81-77 at home over a ranked Texas Tech in a great ballgame. Andrej Stojakovic had his first breakout game as a member of the Illini with 23 points off the bench while Kylan Boswell added 22 points in the win. Things were slightly smoother later in the week, with the Illini winning 84-65 over Colgate. This time it was David Mirkovic unloading with 27 points and 21 rebounds in a dominant performance.
The addition of Mirkovic and Stojakovic is part of that new flavor on a roster filled with European talent and the early returns have certainly been acceptable in Champaign. This Illinois team can put up offense in a hurry and has the interior talent to limit teams defensively. Both that offense and defense will be tested again at a high level next week against an Alabama team looking to make another early statement this season.