Last night, Illinois was excellent at both ends of the court for a full 40 minutes and destroyed hapless Toledo 84-45 in 71 possessions. The Illini's defensive efficiency--a mere 0.63 points per possession--was better than anything the team did all of last season. In fact, in Bruce Weber's seven seasons at Illinois, only seven times has his team held an opponent to a lower efficiency than last night. Considering that Weber has put multiple top 10 defenses on the floor in Champaign, this was indeed an impressive display.

Before we get too carried away, let's not forget who the opponent was. Toledo is in major rebuilding mode, and they were only able to bring five scholarship players to Champaign. The Rockets are likely to be among the worst teams in Division I. Still, in watching the contest, you could see the potential that Illinois has for this season. The Illini shot 70 percent on twos, while allowing Toledo to shoot just 39 percent inside the arc. Perhaps the most encouraging stat is that Illinois forced a turnover on nearly a third of Toledo's possessions. For a team that was very weak in this area last season, this is a great sign. With the length and athleticism at Bruce Weber's disposal, there's no reason this squad should remain below the national average in forcing turnovers.

Demetri McCamey was fantastic, putting up 13 points, 7 assists, and no turnovers in just 18 minutes. Brandon Paul continued his great start with a line of 8 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 assists, and 2 turnovers. The competition level hasn't been good, but Paul has looked very comfortable in filling the backup point guard role. Box score.

Now, we wait until Friday night, when six Big Ten teams get their seasons going, including a doubleheader on the Big Ten Network (Florida-Gulf Coast at Indiana, 5:30pm CT; Eastern Michigan at Michigan State, 7:30pm CT). It's good to be back.

- Posted by Mike Portscheller