Let’s get right to it. Why is the Illini men’s basketball team 2-0?

Defense, defense, defense.

One aspect of head coach Bruce Weber’s team that has stuck out so far has been the Illini’s ability to stifle their opponents from all over the court.

The Illini held Eastern Washington to 15 points in the second half of a 66-50 victory Friday night. The Orange and Blue then beat that mark by limiting Texas A&M-Corpus; Christi to a mere 12 first-half points Sunday.

“That’s where we got to make our mark,” Trent Meacham said after Sunday’s win. “That’s where we got to hang our hat on the defensive end and the offense will come and the fast break points – that will come. But if we hang our hat on the defense and get stops and shut people out, we can be pretty tough.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

I’m not a believer in all of that “the best defense is a good offense” nonsense.

(Kurt Warner and the Greatest Show on Turf are the one exception to that rule).

If you can hold opponents scoreless for prolonged periods of time, then your offense will take care of itself, mainly benefiting from turnovers. Inevitably, your team will most likely go on a run – another of the Illini’s pleasant surprises early in the season.

Illinois executed runs of 25-6 and 23-2 against Eastern Washington and TAMUCC, respectively.

Corpus Christi head coach Perry Clark even praised the Illini’s ability to shut down their big men, something I thought Illinois would have problems with this year.

“I just think Illinois played with much more poise than we did, and they really did a good job of taking away our inside game. Believe it or not, we do have post people that can make post moves and inside shots, but you wouldn’t have known it tonight watching us.”

If the Illini can induce statements like that from opposing coaches all season long, fans can expect a quick turnaround from last year’s debacle.

Sophomore Mike Davis deserves the majority of credit. The Illini forward led everyone and their mothers in rebounds Sunday with 14. And even better, Davis said he is happier with rebounds than scoring. Please, keep it that way.

That selflessness might be the early form of leadership the Illini are looking for this season.

This year’s team looks much more impressive on the defensive side of the ball than last year’s squad so far. Chester Frazier is diving all over the court for loose balls, and Davis is doing everything short of Windexing the backboards.

Speaking of windows, the Illini’s defensive intensity has provided them with windows of opportunity to expand leads early on in the season. I’m not getting too excited, but it’s nice to see Illinois take care of business against teams they should and must beat.

We’ll find out real quick whether the Illini’s defense is for real. On Thursday, the team travels to Vanderbilt to play a team that finished 26-8 last year and averaged 80 points per game.

Lastly, I’m officially pleading for Calvin Brock to see more paying time. He’s the man.

Ryan Dixon is a senior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected].