Illinois basketball made a run to the Final Four in 2026 and has a lineup poised to do it again this year. Andrej Stojakovic decided to return to Illinois after considering the NBA Draft.

Illinois opened up its season on Monday night against Fairleigh Dickinson, and it was complete domination by the Illini, setting multiple school records in the process, according to Jeremy Werner of Illini Inquirer.

“Largest margin of victory in Illinois program history (75 points) after making a program-record 19 threes. Utter dominance from tip-off,” Werner posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Illinois defeated Fairleigh Dickinson 120-45. They opened up an 11-0 lead before Fairleigh Dickinson even got their first bucket. The Illini led 67-20 at the end of the first half, and then put up another 53 points in the second half of the game. Illinois hit 46 of 83 shots in the game, while going 19 of 51 from three. The 19 three-pointers were a school record. Meanwhile, they out-rebounded the Knights 65 to 21, including 22 offensive rebounds by the Illini. Illinois also scored 21 points off of Fairleigh Dickinson turnovers, 22 points on the fast break, and 54 points in the paint.

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Four of the five starters put up double-digit points, led by Andrej Stojakovic. He scored 20 points in just 20 minutes, hitting nine of 11 shots in the game. Meanwhile, Ethan Brown, Quentin Coleman, and Tomislav Ivisic all scored double digits. Zavier Zens scored 12 points off the bench, while Stefan Vaaks scored 20 off the bench. He was also dominant from deep, leading the team with five three-pointers on seven attempts.

Illinois is one of the top teams in the nation and will look to flex its muscle again on Thursday against Penn.