Where: Assembly Hall-ILL, Champaign, Illinois
Officials: # John Higgins, # Michael Kitts, # Ted Valentine
Attendance: 16618
Demetri McCarney scored 18 points and sparked a big second-half run as host Illinois pulled away for an 85-63 victory over intrastate rival Southern Illinois on Saturday night.
D.J. Richardson added 16 points and Mike Davis contributed 14 as the No. 16 Illini used a 33-8 run that bridged halftime in improving to 3-0 on the season.
Illinois broke open a tight game with a 14-5 closing run to take a 41-30 lead at halftime. Richardson buried a pair of 3-points in the late surge.
McCarney then took control by scoring the first five points of the second half and seven in a 19-4 run that propelled Illinois to a 60-34 cushion with 13 1/2 minutes to play.
A senior point guard, McCarney also had nine assists and four rebounds while shooting 7-of-11 from the field.
Carlton Fay scored 13 points and Mamadou Seck added 12 for Southern Illinois in its season opener.
| Southern Illinois | Illinois | |
| Justin Bocot 14 | Scoring | Demetri McCamey 18 |
| Justin Bocot 2 | Assists | Demetri McCamey 9 |
| Gene Teague 7 | Rebounds | Mike Davis 7 |
| Carlton Fay 4 | Free Throws Made | Demetri McCamey 3 |
| Justin Bocot 3 | Steals | Meyers Leonard 2 |
| Carlton Fay 1 | Blocks | Mike Tisdale 3 |
| Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
| Southern Illinois | 63 | 37.5 | 5-21 | 10-14 | 9 | 29 | 3 | 9 | |
| Illinois | 85 | 55.2 | 6-13 | 15-19 | 22 | 31 | 6 | 6 |