LIVE BLOG: Game 1 - FINAL (OT) - Illinois 78, Nicholls State 70

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Welcome to State Farm Center where Illinois will be opening its 115th season of men’s basketball tonight with a 7 p.m. tip against Nicholls State bursting with the expectations of ending its six-year NCAA Tournament drought.

I'm LOOKING LIVE...at the State Farm Center media room in Champaign, Ill., as we're a few hours from the opening tip.

NOTE: Please join us as we live-blog and discuss the Illini exhibition game here in our weekly Illini Gameday Open Thread. Dive into the conversation — it's easy — by simply going to the top right of the redesigned site and click the follow button.

You can log in with Facebook or Google and either way, it's free. That's right...IT'S FREE. From there, sound off in the comment section and share your reactions and observations with our staff and fellow members of the Illini Maven/Sports Illustrated community as we keep you up to date of the game in real-time.

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Game 1: Nicholls State at Illinois

Date/Time/Place: Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019: 7 p.m. CST, State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill.

Capacity: 16,618

Records: Nicholls State 0-0; 14-17, 7-11 in Southland Conference in 2018-19. Illinois 0-0; 12-21, 7-13 in Big Ten Conference in 2018-19.

Line: Illinois by 22.5

Series notes: First meeting

TV: BTN-Plus (subscription)

Radio (Illinois): Brian Barnhart (PBP), Doug Altenberger (analyst) and Steve Kelly (Pre/HT/Post) - The broadcast can be heard live on TuneIn online radio, Sirius/XM 982 and at FightingIllini.com.

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NOTE: Illinois will once again only have 10 scholarship players for this game tonight. Tevian Jones is suspended for an academic violation and transfers Austin Hutcherson and Jacob Grandison are ineligible after arriving at Illinois this fall.

Here is some noteworthy information on the Illini's opponent: Nicholls State

Last season Nicholls State was ranked 308th among 353 Division 1 programs in defense according to Ken Pomeroy's analytical statistics.
The Colonels boast an interesting roster of six seniors, five transfers and one single freshman.
After finishing 14-17 last season, Nicholls State is projected to finish 11th in the Southland Conference via the league's preseason poll. and they return two starters from last season: junior G Kevin Johnson & senior wing player Brandon Moore Jr.
This season-opening game represents a seemingly non-stop road trip for Nicholls State as they will also visit Pittsburgh (Nov. 9), LSU (Nov. 16), Rhode Island (Nov. 19) and West Virginia (Dec. 14) in just over a month.

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Tonight is the opening night of college basketball so that means eight other Big Ten Conference teams will be playing. Here is the league's lineup of games for tonight:

Appalachian State at Michigan, 6 p.m. CST - BTN - Juwan Howard's head coaching debut at Michigan
Western Illinois at Indiana, 6 p.m.
Maryland-Eastern Shore at Penn State, 6 p.m.
Holy Cross at No. 7 Maryland, 6:30 p.m.
Cleveland State at Minnesota, 7 p.m.
No. 20 Saint Mary's vs. Wisconsin, 8 p.m. ESPNU - at Sioux Falls, South Dakota
California-Riverside at Nebraska, 8 p.m., BTN - Fred Hoiberg's coaching debut at Nebraska
No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 1 Michigan State, 8:30 p.m., ESPN - Champions Classic in Chicago

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UPDATE: Illinois going with the same starting lineup (Dosunmu, Frazier, Feliz, Giorgi and Kofi) tonight as they went with in the exhibition game last week. Da'Monte Williams, Alan Griffin and Kipper Nichols will be on the bench to start this season opener.

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MEDIA TIMEOUT - 15:52 left in 1st - Illinois 6, Nicholls State 3 - Brad Underwood going to the bench early and going with a smaller lineup (Girogi at center) coming out of this media timeout. Nicholls State already with three turnovers.

MEDIA TIMEOUT - 10:58 left in 1st - Illinois 15, Nicholls State 10 - Ayo already with six points and two assists early on. The Nicholls State team has four field goals and three turnovers.

- I actually enjoyed Underwood using the smaller and less obvious scoring lineup of Feliz, Frazier, Williams, Kipper and Giorgi early on to make them figure it out. Eventually, Ayo and/or Kofi will be early foul trouble this season.

MEDIA TIMEOUT - 8:00 left in 1st - Illinois 17, Nicholls State 12 - Illini have just seven field goals and six turnovers. Offense looks a little disjointed and slow. Good news? Nicholls State's shooting is the worst thing seen tonight. Colonels are 5 of 17 from the field and 3 of 13 on 2-pointers.

- Illinois was one of the worst rebounding teams in the Big Ten Conference last year and obviously may have solved that in the form of Kofi Cockburn. The 7-footer already has two offensive rebounds and is muscling his way to boards.

The Illini offensive woes have stretched to the foul line as well. Illinois is 3 of 8 from the charity stripe.

MEDIA TIMEOUT - 2:53 left in 1st - Illinois 26, Nicholls State 16 - Illini are 10 of 20 on 2-point field goals and are being led by the dribble drive offense of Ayo and Feliz. Illinois also has 10 offensive rebounds and 16 points in the paint. Nicholls State are 7 of 24 from the field with six turnovers.

ILLINOIS TIMEOUT - 0:31.4 left in 1st - Illinois 30, Nicholls State 19 - Underwood wants something drawn up for this last possession. Illini have 12 of its 30 points on offensive putbacks right now.

HALFTIME - Illinois 30, Nicholls State 19 - Illinois end the half 1 of 8 from 3-point range and have 11 turnovers. If Nicholls State wasn't having the worst shooting night ever, Illini might be in a little trouble.

- Things that Illinois can't afford to have happen in first half action against quality teams: Trent Frazier being 0 for 6 and 0 for 4 from 3-point range. Giorgi with three points and one rebound in 13 minutes.

MEDIA TIMEOUT - 15:13 left - Illinois 40, Nicholls State 23 - Andres Feliz has clearly been the difference tonight for the Illini. Senior guard has 12 points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes while playing all three guard spots.

MEDIA TIMEOUT - 11:58 left - Illinois 47, Nicholls State 34 - Illini floating in this second half after a short burst of energy. In all fairness, Ayo and Kofi are currently on the bench. Illinois with 17 turnovers and 18 field goals.

MEDIA TIMEOUT - 7:49 left - Illinois 54, Nicholls State 43 - Ayo has 15 points and seven rebounds tonight. Cockburn is one point and one rebound from a double-double in his collegiate debut.

NSU TIMEOUT - 5:47 left - Illinois 60, Nicholls State 50 - Illinois is 11 of 20 from the foul line and has 19 turnovers tonight. The good news for the Illini? Nicholls State is just starting to get easy shots in the lane (12 of 25 in second half).

ILLINI TIMEOUT - 3:43 left - Illinois 64, Nicholls State 56 - Illinois has to stem another Nicholls State run by putting Kofi Cockburn back in the game right now. Nicholls State shooting 51.7 percent in second half.

- Trent Frazier is 0 for 9 and 0 for 6 from 3-point range tonight for a scoreless game in 26 minutes.

ILLINI TIMEOUT - 1:48 left - Illinois 64, Nicholls State 64 - Nicholls State has outscored the Illini 14-2 over the last 3:08 and Illinois hasn't scored in last 3:23.

NSU TIMEOUT - 25.6 left - Illinois 64, Nicholls State 64 - Nicholls State can hold for the final shot tonight if they want.