Illinois may be the top team in the state as far as rankings go, but that doesn’t stop other state schools from wanting to take on the No. 23 Illini basketball squad.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville was the first in-state foe to fall to Illinois this season, as the Fighting Illini kicked off the regular season by defeating the Cougars, 96-69, on Friday.

But another in-state foe, Northern Illinois (0-1) will make the trip to Assembly Hall on Tuesday.

Head coach Bruce Weber recognizes the importance of playing other Illinois programs.

“I think it’s good for the state schools. It’s good for us,” Weber said. “There’s good coaches, good teams, in our state. And it gives them extra exposure, so I think it’s a positive thing for us.”

“Obviously if we’re at our place it really makes it much better,” Weber added.

NIU kicked off its regular season with a 77-55 loss at Northwestern on Friday, committing 17 turnovers and shooting 50 percent from the free-throw line.

Junior guard Xavier Silas was a bright spot for the Huskies on Friday, scoring a team-high 18 points and grabbing seven rebounds in 26 minutes. But Illinois won’t have to contend with the scoring threat posed by Silas, as NIU announced Monday that he will be sidelined at least two weeks after fracturing his right hand in the Northwestern game.

That injury will likely slow the Huskies’ offense, as guard Demetri McCamey, who played with Silas on a Sports Reach Ministry team that traveled to China in 2008, said Silas was “an excellent player and he can get to the basket at will.”

But Illinois will still have to focus on Huskies guard Darion Anderson, who put up 15 points and eight rebounds against Northwestern.

“They have some guys that can score. They were very much up-tempo in the exhibition games — 120 and 93 (points) — so they can score some points,” Weber said.

“I think it will be a game that will be I think up and down. We’re trying to push it, they like to push it,” Weber added. “We’ve just got to make sure we get back and defend. And it will be a good test for our guards to see what we can deal with.”

As the season progresses and the competition gets tougher, defense and the lack of a defensive stopper remain a concern for Weber and his squad.

Freshman guard D.J. Richardson has told Weber he wants to guard the opposition’s top scorer every night. And defense is what he wants to see the Illini improve upon moving forward.

“I think we should set goals for ourselves and try to hold our opponents under a certain amount of points,” Richardson said.

While Weber was pleased with his squad’s performance Friday, he expects even more from them when they go up against the Huskies.

“There’s a long way to go and a lot to get done and (we’ve) just got to keep improving — starting every day in practice and then Tuesday night against Northern,” Weber said.

On-air reporter Andy Selby contributed to this report.