For a day that has been almost 18 months in the making, there was not much drama.

Friday may have been a monumental moment in the history of Northwestern athletics with the reopening of Welsh-Ryan Arena, but the marquee event of the day — the men’s basketball exhibition game against McKendree — was forgettable. Aside from some highlight dunks and exciting blocks, the Wildcats did what they were expected to do and crushed their Division II opponents from Lebanon, Illinois.

Behind a 4-for-5 shooting performance from sophomore guard Anthony Gaines, NU shot 56.3% from the field in the first half and jumped out to a 16-point halftime lead. The game did not get any closer from there as the Cats extended the advantage, winning the game by 39 points.

1. Kopp getting run with the starters

Heading into the game, it was expected that junior forward AJ Turner would occupy the second forward spot alongside senior Vic Law. However, when the PA announcer started to introduce the NU starting five, he started with freshman forward Miller Kopp and not Turner.

Kopp ran with Law, senior center Dererk Pardon, graduate guard Ryan Taylor and senior guard Jordan Ash. For most of the first half, Collins played his starting five together and played a bench lineup of featuring freshman guard Ryan Greer, sophomore guard Anthony Gaines, Turner, freshman forward Pete Nance and junior center Barret Benson. While Collins did mix the two groups, it was only for short stretches of the first-half.

The starting lineup looked sharp together. Collins ran the first play in the new arena for Pardon, who posted up on the block and made an and-one layup. Kopp made a ten-foot pull-up jumper early in the game and was unafraid to drive to basket, and Taylor was aggressive from three throughout the first half, taking four shots from distance in the first twenty minutes. There were some bad passes and miscommunications but they were more of an anomaly than the norm.

2. Cats not afraid to run and be quick in transition

Even though NU doesn’t have an experienced point guard on the roster, it looked the Cats put on an emphasis on running in transition, and the entire team pushed the tempo. NU finished the game with 21 fastbreak points. Nance had the highlight of the day, stealing the ball on the perimeter and outrunning three players down the floor before finishing a powerful dunk.

But he was not the only one pushing the pace. Greer was effective racing the ball up the court, showcasing a tight in-and-out dribble on a number of transition plays. Turner worked in some units as the primary ball handler and was not afraid to quickly push upcourt before the defense. Gaines and Ash — the primary ball handler for the starting five — also were not afraid to push the rock.

3. Plenty of playing time

Less than twelve months ago, after the Cats lost to Creighton in early December, Collins said a big factor in their early season struggles was having senior Aaron Falzon sidelined with an injury. Now for the second straight year, Falzon is injured to start the year, but NU has more lengthy sharpshooters than they have in the past.

Falzon, junior forward Charlie Hall and sophomore guard Tino Malnati were the only ones who weren’t dressed for the game, and ten of the eleven active players tallied double-digit minutes. All 10 of those players were on the scoresheet by the end of the first half. Law, Gaines, Nance and Taylor all reached double figures as no player had a +/- under 16. Freshman center Ryan Young was the only active player to not get any playing time in the contest.

Peter Warren contributed reporting.