Jakucionis should probably be on a permanent triple-double watch this season. The Illini freshman didn't quite hit that mark -- a couple would-be rebounds were snatched by teammates late in the second half -- but the projected first-round draft pick was awfully close in just the second game of his college basketball career. Jakucionis finished with 12 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds. The 13 assists tied Frank Williams' freshman record set in the 1999-2000 season against Loyola Chicago and was three off the overall record shared by Demetri McCamey and Tony Wysinger.
Tre White's hot start (a pair of early threes got the Illini's barrage from deep going) and Jakucionis' near triple-double were certainly highlights. The rest of the Illinois guards didn't have quite as much impact on the outcome of Friday's win. (Although walk-on Keaton Kutcher did get his first two career points with the Illini). For the Cougars, former N-G All-State First Team selection Ray'Sean Taylor led the way with 14 points and four assists.
Rebounding-by-committee took a while for Illinois to lock in against SIUE. The Cougars held a distinct advantage in the first half when it came to offensive rebounds -- and second-chance points -- which Morez Johnson Jr. and Will Riley helped offset after halftime. The Illini still gave up more rebounds than Brad Underwood would like to see, but leading scorer Tomislav Ivisic was joined in double figures by Riley and Ben Humrichous to offset that shortcoming.
The depth of this Illinois teams means Underwood will always be able to bring scoring off his bench, which his his preference. There was just less of it Friday compared to Monday's season opener. The leader didn't change, though, with Riley the Illini's top scorer off the bench. Johnson's rebounding also helped, but SIUE could say the same with Jo Valrie's eight points and 11 rebounds.
Illinois took its first double-digit lead just 5 minutes 3 seconds into Friday's game and had that much of an advantage through most of the night. SIUE certainly never threatened an upset in the second half. But it didn't quite have the feel of Monday's blowout win against EIU when the Illini just seemed to be rolling. Maybe it was because of the Cougars' efforts on the glass. Or the fact Illinois missed nine free throws. But a 32-point win is a 32-point win. File it away and move forward.