CHAMPAIGN - If you're a top 25 team, it's always fun to work in a few blowout basketball games early in the season. And No. 23 Illinois had a whole lot of fun racing past tiny Presbyterian College 94-48 Saturday night at the Assembly Hall.

But coach Bruce Weber's message after the game was sobering and true.

Enjoy it for a minute. The fun's about to end.

Illinois' schedule takes a decided turn toward more challenging opponents starting Tuesday night with Wofford, which may not sound like a threat but which already has a victory at Georgia and a hard-fought, 3-point loss to Pittsburgh.

Then comes Utah, Oklahoma State or Bradley, Clemson, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Missouri, Gonzaga and the start of Big Ten Conference play.

Forty-six point victories will quickly be a thing of the past.

"This was a good win for us," Weber said. "Now the competition obviously gets a lot tougher. Tuesday night's game will be difficult, and then it gets even more difficult as we go through the next couple weeks."

Presbyterian, with an enrollment of 1,200 and in just its third season of Division I basketball, sunk into its zone defense and worked hard, staying even with the Illini for the first 12 minutes of the game.

The score was tied at 21 when Illinois finally gained the upper hand and pounded Presbyterian into submission.

Illinois closed the first half on a 22-7 run, shredding the zone with crisp inside-outside passing and sharp shooting.

Then, after assistant coach Jerrance Howard emphasized throwing a knockout punch in the first four minutes of the second half, Illinois did just that.

In fact, Illinois (3-0) outscored Presbyterian 25-2 to start the second half, smothering their guests from Clinton, S.C. After the early tie, Illinois outscored Presbyterian 47-9 to open a 68-30 lead. The lead eventually reached 49 points, as all 13 players who entered the game scored.

D.J. Richardson, whose hyperextended elbow is feeling better all the time, led the way with 15 points. He made 4 of 6 3-pointers.

Mike Davis added 12 points and nine rebounds. Alex Legion came off the bench to score 11. Demetri McCamey had just five points, but he had 10 assists and only two turnovers. And freshman Tyler Griffey added nine points and nine rebounds.

Brandon Paul, who leads the team in scoring, finished with eight points but was 0-for-4 from 3-point range.

Presbyterian coach Gregg Nibert, whose team opened the season by losing at Clemson 84-41, said Illinois' ball movement was exceptional.

"We're out there in our zone and they had 27 assists," Nibert said. "They hardly dribbled the ball, skip passing, moving it around, hitting the open man. And they shot it well.

"We were hoping that maybe they weren't going to shoot the 3 quite as well."

Illinois made 11-of-26 from long distance, a 42.3 percent clip.

"They did a tremendous job of inside-and-out. We needed six or seven players out there the way they passed it."

Jake Troyli, a 6-9 redshirt freshman, led Presbyterian (0-3) with 15 points.

The game also marked the first action of the season for Illini junior guard Jeff Jordan. After being suspended for two games for playing in an unsanctioned summer 3-on-3 tournament, Jordan played 18 minutes, scored four points and added five rebounds and two assists.

"He did a solid job for us," Weber said. "He's a couple years older now, so he understands how to attack the zone. Our whole team does."

Davis, who played just 20 minutes and was within one rebound of his third straight double-double, also liked the way Illinois worked against the zone.

"The key is to get the ball in the middle and swing it to opposite sides," Illinois' 6-9 junior forward said. "I swung it to D.J., and he was knocking down shots all night.

"When Jeff (Jordan) got in there, I was surprised at how well he played after sitting out two games. It didn't look like he missed a beat."

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