The hope for Illinois would be that a 75-point win would be the only thing to talk about after Monday’s season-opening clash with Fairleigh Dickinson.
But although the scoreboard read 120-45, Illinois had a concern: Jake Davis, who was injured in the first half and did not return.
Davis, who started the majority of games last year for Illinois, is expected to be an every-night starter this season.
That would be foiled quickly if Davis is forced to miss time with his injury.
Jake Davis Injury Update
Illinois coach Brad Underwood offered a straightforward but not-ideal update about Davis after Monday’s game when he spoke to reporters.
“It doesn’t sound great,” Illini head coach Brad Underwood said. “It’s a shoulder injury. I don’t know the whole diagnosis yet, but it didn’t sound great.”
That’s not what you want to hear. That’s the kind of language you use when there’s real concern about what might come of this injury.
It sounds like Illinois may have had further tests to do for Davis, but it clearly wasn’t a great initial diagnosis.
What Happened to Jake Davis?
Davis was playing defense in the first half on Monday when he tried to get around a screen.
He appeared to get his left shoulder caught up in the screening action, and he crouched down holding that shoulder.
When play was stopped, Davis ran off the floor toward the locker room. He didn’t return to Illinois’ bench.
Illini Inquirer points out that the Fighting Illini are already without David Mirkovic, who underwent an emergency appendectomy on Saturday and was out Monday due to illness.
A Davis injury would set Illinois back a little bit further.
Jake Davis Stats
Last season, Davis started 22 of the 37 games that Illinois played en route to the Final Four.
His key skill is his shooting — he made 40.6% from 3-point range a season ago.
Overall, Davis averaged 5.4 points per game in 19.6 minutes per game in 2025-26 for the Fighting Illini.
When Illinois came out of halftime, their four other starters began on the floor, and they were joined by freshman Zavier Zens, who finished with 12 points in the blowout win.
Next Game for Illinois
Illinois doesn’t have long to wait before taking the floor again. They host Penn on Thursday.
The Quakers aren’t going to be a pushover mid-major opponent. They’re coached by Fran McCaffery (formerly at Iowa) and led on the court by former top recruit TJ Power.
It certainly seems unlikely that Davis would be back for that one.
Illinois’ Jake Davis Injury Update Not Ideal After 75-Point Win