There was no Orange Krush student section at the State Farm Center, but Illinois fans had to be celebrating after an emphatic opening victory.
The No. 8 Illini throttled North Carolina A&T 122-60 on Wednesday to begin a season with high expectations.
Ayo Dosunmu scored a career-high 28 points and recorded his second career double-double with 10 rebounds, also adding five assists.
But freshman Adam Miller stole the show with 28 points, hitting 6 of 8 3-pointers and 10 of 12 overall from the field. The 6-foot-3 guard from Morgan Park broke Brandon Paul's record for most points by a freshman in his Illini debut. Paul scored 22 in 2009.
The Illini struggled from 3-point range last season, but that wasn't an issue Wednesday. They set a single-game school record with 17 3-pointers in 31 attempts (54.8%).
Sophomore center Kofi Cockburn, who recorded 12 double-doubles last season, started this season with another. He finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Illinois (1-0) will play Chicago State on Thursday and Ohio on Friday in the multi-team event in Champaign.
