Every time the chips have been down throughout the 2025-2026 season, Brad Underwood has turned to star freshman Keaton Wagler to bail him out. Perhaps that is the case again, but if Illinois is going to beat UConn in its first Final Four appearance since 2005, it needs the help of two unlikely heroes — Andrej Stojakovic and David Mirkovic.
No Final Four run comes easily, but Illinois has made it look that way thus far, winning each of its four regional games by double digits. The Illini had some help along the way, with Iowa stunning top-seeded Florida in the Round of 32, but they now find themselves just two wins away from one of the grittiest national championships in recent college basketball history.
Illinois enters the prestigious stage after a 71-59 win over Iowa in yet another dominant defensive performance. Wagler impressed with arguably his best game of the tournament, posting an efficient 25 points, his most in a single game in nearly two months.
Wagler is a projected NBA Draft lottery pick for a reason and has been the player who has led Illinois through thick and thin all season. But the Illini would not be blowing teams out without Stojakovic and Mirkovic, who have combined for 29.8 points and 14.0 rebounds per game in the NCAA Tournament.
Through all the talk of Illinois being the tallest team in college basketball and Wagler's offensive prowess, Stojakovic and Mirkovic have led the most consistent supporting cast in the country to Underwood's best season in Urbana-Champaign.
David Mirkovic has been Illinois' most consistent player
Illinois basketball fans would not have called David Mirkovic their most consistent player at the beginning of the season, but that is exactly what he has become at the end of his freshman campaign.
After ending the regular season scoring in double figures in all but one of his final 14 games, Mirkovic has been on a tear in the postseason. Carried by a monstrous 29-point, 17-rebound effort against Penn in the Round of 64, the Serbian has been Illinois' best rebounder and most versatile player in the NCAA Tournament.
Aside from his outburst against Penn, Mirkovic's numbers have not always been there, but he consistently impacts the game in ways that do not show up on the box score. In addition to shooting 41.2 percent from downtown in March Madness, Mirkovic has been the team's best all-around defender and has been showing off his vastly improved playmaking skills that have entirely opened up Underwood's offense.
Illinois will need Mirkovic's offensive versatility against UConn, but his defense will be even more important in the matchup.
Whenever UConn struggles, teams have typically been able to stop its supporting cast. While Tarris Reed Jr. gets his numbers more often than not, opponents have had success against the Huskies when they slow the combination of Alex Karaban, Solo Ball, Silas Demery Jr. and Braylon Mullins.
Despite being the most experienced player on the team, Karaban is the most inconsistent of the group. He began the NCAA Tournament on a heater, scoring 49 points in the first two rounds, but he enters the Final Four off a four-point stinker against Duke.
Illinois can beat UConn in a variety of ways, but it will begin with Mirkovic preventing Karaban from getting into an offensive rhythm.
Andrej Stojakovic needs to pressure UConn's interior
As much as Illinois needs David Mirkovic's versatility, it needs Andrej Stojakovic to continue doing what he does best. Aside from Wagler, Stojakovic is Underwood's most aggressive offensive player, which the Illini need to maintain pressure on a beatable Huskies defense.
UConn's defense numbers are stout, particularly on the inside. They only allow 27.4 points in the paint per game, 39th-best in the country.
However, those numbers have been tested in the NCAA Tournament against teams that have more size and interior skill than those in the dismal Big East. The Huskies allowed 34 points in the paint to Duke and Michigan State each, while also sending both teams to the line more than their season averages.
UConn's main struggles have not come against interior players, but rather against slashing playmakers. The Huskies could not keep Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr or Cayden Boozer out of the paint in either game, leading to several scoring opportunities at the rim, an uncharacteristic trend for Dan Hurley's team.
That potential weakness is enticing for Wagler and for Stojakovic, the latter being Illinois' most aggressive ball-handler. Despite being the son of a silky-smooth sharpshooter, Stojakovic has made a living in the paint in the NCAA Tournament, averaging 15.0 points per game on 59.5 percent shooting in his last four games, all off the bench.
Illinois will not advance to the National Championship Game without another star-making performance from Wagler, both as a scorer and setting up his sharpshooters on the perimeter. Yet, Stojakovic's exceptional play off the bench has arguably been the biggest key to their Final Four run, making his performance against UConn essential to the Illini's success.
