Nov. 14, 2011

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Illinois 66, SIU Edwardsville 46
Illinois Postgame Notes
Nov. 14, 2011 // Assembly Hall, Champaign, Ill. // Attendance: 13,404

1. Illinois improved to 2-0 on the season and 106-23 at home under Bruce Weber. Tonight's game was the first of four straight games that are part of the Cancun Challenge. Thursday's home game against Lipscomb is also part of the Challenge, then the Illini will head to Cancun next week to face Richmond (Nov. 22 at 8:30 pm) and either Rutgers or Illinois State (Nov. 23 at 6 or 8:30 pm). Illinois' two games in Cancun will be televised by CBS Sports Network.

2. Junior D.J. Richardson tied his career-high with 20 points, marking the first time he has led the Illini in scoring since Dec. 12, 2010 vs. Northern Colorado.

3. Junior Tyler Griffey posted his first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. His previous career high on the boards was nine vs. Presbyterian on Nov. 21, 2009.

4. Sophomore Meyers Leonard had eight points, a career-high 11 rebounds and five blocks. He now has 11 blocks in the first two games after swatting a career-high six in the season opener. He also had his best game from the free throw line, going 4-of-4.

5. The Illini defense held the Cougars to just 29.8 percent shooting (17-of-57) overall while also shutting down SIUE to close out the game. Over the final 13 minutes, Illinois forced nine turnovers and only allowed three field goals.

6. Illinois outrebounded the Cougars 48-27. Last season, Illinois' rebounding high was 46.

7. Illinois registered double-digit blocks for the second consecutive contest with 11 rejections. The Illini are averaging 12.0 bpg through two games while last season the Orange and Blue averaged just 4.5 bpg.

8. Midway through the second half, Illinois went on an 11-0 run to pull away from the Cougars, as they grabbed a 55-37 lead and put the game out of reach.

9. Two freshmen recorded six of Illinois' seven steals, as Tracy Abrams and Nnanna Egwu each nabbed three.

10. After scoring the first six points of the game, Illinois then jumped out to an 11-4 lead and never trailed in the contest.