John Groce wasn’t satisfied with Illinois’ intensity in Friday night’s 80-71 win over Georgia Southern.

“We’re going to work hard (Saturday) to be better and play a more complete game from an effort and physical disposition and toughness standpoint on Sunday than we did tonight,” Groce said following Friday’s grind-it-out home victory.

It’s safe to say the film session Groce had with his team on their day off worked.

Compared to Friday, Illinois looked like a completely different team on both ends of the floor in Sunday’s 114-56 drubbing of Coppin State. The Illini defense was noticeably more intense, and the offense lit up the scoreboard in record-breaking fashion, making 15-of-28 3-pointers in the program’s highest scoring effort since 1993.

There’s no sugarcoating the fact that Coppin State is a very bad basketball team. They’re probably one of the worst teams to visit State Farm Center in recent history, and I’m convinced that the Illini’s exhibition opponent, Division II Quincy, would beat Coppin State if they met on the hardwood.

But with the way the Illini shot the ball Sunday evening, they would have beaten just about anybody. Easy buckets against an inferior opponent are one thing, but open looks will come against every team they face this year. With the way this Illini roster is constructed, they’ll have to knock down treys consistently to win games this season.

There’s no way they’ll sustain Sunday’s 54 percent clip from long range throughout the season. But the Coppin State game provided a tantalizing preview of what this team could look like when it’s firing on all cylinders.

Ahmad Starks, Aaron Cosby, Kendrick Nunn and Rayvonte Rice were snipers from the outside. Malcolm Hill, Leron Black, Nnanna Egwu and Maverick Morgan scored easily in the post. A team like Coppin State is supposed to make you look good, but after Friday’s shaky showing, good wasn’t good enough for Illinois on Sunday. So the Illini came out and looked great. As the threes rained down, I had flashbacks to the 2012 Maui Invitational, the most recent time Illinois looked unstoppable in nearly all facets of the game.

In the opener against Georgia Southern, Illinois never got in a rhythm offensively and looked terrible on defense and rebounding the ball. Egwu got in early foul trouble, and Georgia Southern’s mix of zone and press defenses gave the Illini fits.

Friday’s game was the polar opposite of Sunday’s, and both provided a blueprint of how Illinois will lose and win games this season, respectively.

The Georgia Southern game showed how potential losses could play out: Egwu picks up early fouls, the Illini get killed in the post and on the boards, and athletic defenses limit Illinois’ 3-point looks. Simply put, if the Illini play like they did against Georgia Southern against high-major Division I teams, they will likely come out on the wrong end of the result.

But if Illinois brings Sunday’s style of play to the majority of their games this season, watch out. As Groce said after the game Sunday, it all starts with the Illini’s defense and rebounding. Their defensive intensity fueled the offensive explosion against Coppin State, and the Illini’s ability to spread the wealth didn’t hurt, either.

Illinois made 41 field goals on 24 assists Sunday and distributed the ball effectively and efficiently. One of this team’s biggest strengths is the number of scorers it has, and the Illini look to have at least seven legitimate threats to score the basketball on any given night. Not all of the Illini players have to fill the stat sheet like they did Sunday, but they will have to bring a consistent mental approach game in and game out in order to sustain success.

“So much of this is mental,” Groce said following Sunday’s win. “Tonight we had the right mindset. It really starts with the right mindset.”

With the opening weekend in the books, we have a winning recipe for the 2014-15 Illini: A heavy dose of defense, aggressive rebounding and an intense focus will lead to fireworks on the offensive end.

Now the question is, which version of Groce’s squad will show up consistently throughout the year?

Alex is a junior in AHS. He can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @aroux94.