-For tonight's Live Report from the Assembly Hall, click here.

Backcourt
Illinois: A-minus
NIU: B-minus
Without its best player, Xavier Silas (hand), NIU ran out of gas. "We don't have anyone that can do what Xavier can do," coach Ricardo Patton lamented.

Frontcourt
Illinois: A
NIU: C
Mike Tisdale's first point didn't come until 10:06 was left in the game. That's partly because the guards (31 field goal attempts vs. 15 for the starting big men) are dominating the ball.

Bench
Illinois: B
NIU: C
Bruce Weber emphasized that reserves don't have to score to earn minutes.
For example, "Bill Cole did not take a shot, but he played 14 solid minutes," he said.

Overall
Illinois: B-plus
NIU: B-minus
Illinois had 54 Matto points. What does that mean? Well, the blue-collar Illini of last season never scored more than 51. Brandon Paul worked his way to a game-high 11 Matto points.