The Illinois men's basketball team won its second straight game to open the season by a score of 112-70 over the Penn Quakers, a game that included strong performances from a pair of freshmen, guard Quentin Coleman and forward Zavier Zens.

The Fighting Illini's win made them 2-0 on the season headed into Tuesday, Nov. 10's road game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Following the game, Coleman and Zens were asked about the appearance of former Iowa women's hoops superstar Caitlin Clark, who joined a special guest for the game at State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill.

Coleman Shocked by Caitlin Clark Appearance

Coleman and Zens responded to a question about Clark being in the building in different ways. Coleman sounded shocked by her appearance while Zens was cool, calm and collected.

"Were you two aware that Caitlin Clark was in the building prior to tip-off, and if so did that contribute to your level of play this evening?" one reporter asked.

"Wait, wait, wait...Caitlin Clark was in the building? Wait, why was she here? Yooo...I gotta tell my sister, bro," Coleman responded, his mouth aghast as he shifted the spotlight on Zens.

"Yo, Caitlin Clark, for him, he shoots lights out, so I guess he felt that," Coleman said, referring to his teammate.

"I didn't know she was here, so," Zens replied.

Clark is the NCAA's all-time leading scorer among women's basketball players after scoring 3,951 points during her career in Iowa City with the Iowa Hawkeyes.

She attended Thursday night's game with her boyfriend Connor McCaffrey, who is now an NBA G League consultant and the son of Penn head coach Fran McCaffrey.

Coleman, Zens Come Out Firing

Coleman and Zens both had strong games against the Quakers as they finished just behind Andrej Stojakovic among the Fighting Illini's leading scorers.

Coleman finished with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting in just 20 minutes of action, showing a level of efficiency and maturity beyond his years. Zens finished with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting in just 21 minutes of play, announcing himself as a key member of one of the country's best freshman classes.

Fellow freshmen Lincoln Williams and Ethan Brown also had strong games with 12 and 13 points, respectively, with each shooting 4-of-5 from the field.

The Fighting Illini have time to prepare for Nov. 10's road game in Lubbock, Texas against the Red Raiders, a familiar foe from Underwood's days as coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

The Red Raiders are 2-0 on the season with blowout wins over Jackson State and Bethune-Cookman, and were led in scoring by Damarion Dennis (22 points) and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (25 points) in those games.