An examination of the numbers that help explain the Illini's hard-fought (and somehwat humbling) 66-54 victory

Illinois (3-0) played Oakland (1-2) on Wednesday night in Champaign. The Illini had a wide range of performances in the game, ending with a win.

Averaging 17.5 offensive rebounds per game, the Golden Grizzlies crash hard – and then turn those boards into points (12.0 second-chance points per game). Oakland lacks size (tallest starter: 6-foot-7), but the Golden Grizzlies have solid athletes who play hard.