The Illinois basketball team picked up a big win on Thanksgiving as they took down #19 Arkansas in the Thanksgiving Hoops Showcase. The Fighting Illini improved to 6-1 with the win, and the Razorbacks fell to 5-2. It was an impressive performance from Illinois as they led from start to finish, and it was an especially important victory as it was their first ranked win of the season.

Illinois showed that they are once again a legit threat in the Big Ten with this victory. Arkansas is expected to be a solid team this season, and the Fighting Illini made easy work of the Razorbacks on a neutral court as the two teams battled it out in Kansas City.

From the tip, the Illinois basketball team was in control of this game. They got off to an incredible start as they put up 11 points before Arkansas was on the board. The Razorbacks started to play better after that, but they were well behind the 8-ball at that point.

Arkansas was able to keep the deficit around 10 for a while, but Illinois closed out the first half strong and they took a 49-34 lead into the locker room. It was an impressive display of execution on offense with hustle and effort on the other end of the court.

The Razorbacks got the lead down under 10 a couple of times in the second half, but Illinois always had a response. Each time the Razorbacks inched closer, the Fighting Illini did a good job of making a play, and they never let Arkansas back in the game.

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Arkansas's final hope was in the final few minutes when they cut the deficit to nine, and the Fighting Illini scored the next five points to bury the Razorbacks.

Illinois showed a lot of positive traits on Thursday. Obviously, any time you beat a ranked team by double digits, it's impressive. However, the way they were able to do it added some extra value.

The Fighting Illini started strong and they never had a period in the game where they took their foot off the gas and let Arkansas back in. When a team gets out to a big lead like that right out of the gates, it's common that we see the other team find a way back in it. Especially when the team is ranked like Arkansas. The Fighting Illini didn't let that happen. This was an impressive win for Illinois.

Illinois will be back in action next Friday and it will be their first Big Ten game of the season. The Fighting Illinois will hit the road to take on Northwestern. The two teams will tip at 8:00 CT from Welsh-Ryan arena in Evanston, Illinois, and the game will be airing on the Big Ten Network.