Illinois began its season ranked 17th in the country. Maybe it was appropriate that the Fighting Illini drained 17 3-pointers in their season opener Monday night, a 113-55 pasting of Jackson State.

Illinois will try for an encore on Friday night when it welcomes Florida Gulf Coast to Champaign, Ill., for another nonconference contest.

Among the highlights of the first game were 21 points apiece from returnees Tomislav Ivisic and Ben Humrichous, a 19-point, 14-rebound effort from freshman David Mirkovic and a whopping 61-19 rebounding advantage.

"I thought our effort on the glass on both sides was really good," said Illinois coach Brad Underwood. "With our depth, our players are gonna have to learn that if they aren't rebounding, they're coming out."

Rebounding should be a strength of t

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