Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball News - Page 2

Illinois’ win over Purdue did more than just extend its win streak to nine while beating the No. 4 team in college basketball. Following their 88-82 victory, the Illini’s offense now has the highest rating in the country, according to KenPom. Illinois has consistently been one of the most efficient offenses in the country, but […]

Illinois took an upset victory over Purdue on Saturday, winning 88-82. In the game, Keaton Wagler had a historical performance for Illinois. Meanwhile, David Mirkovic was also a major player in the contest, even though there were questions about his availability before the game. After the game, Mirkovic explained how determined he was to play […]

The Big Ten is an absolute gauntlet in college basketball this season, and that was on full display on Saturday as two of the best teams in the league had to go at it in West Lafayette. In the end, it was No. 11 Illinois that pulled the upset and came out on top 88-82 […]

The Illinois basketball team picked up a big win over Purdue on Saturday. Illinois guard Keaton Wagler poured in a whopping 46 points for the club, to get the Big Ten conference victory. Following the game, Wagler got his flowers from multiple news reporters who were left astonished at Wagler’s dominance. “Goodness. This is a […]

The Illinois Fighting Illini delivered one of its most stunning road wins in recent memory on Saturday, knocking off No. 4 the Purdue Boilermakers 88-82 inside Mackey Arena behind a historic scoring explosion from freshman guard Keaton Wagler. Wagler poured in 46 points, the most ever scored by an opponent in Mackey Arena, leading the […]

Coming into their game against Purdue on Saturday, the Illinois Fighting Illini were going to be short-handed because of the absence of Kylan Boswell due to a hand injury. But in his absence, freshman guard Keaton Wagler stepped up in a huge way, making NCAA history in the process as Illinois upset Purdue, 88-82. Keaton […]

Illinois moved to 16-3 on the season with a 89-70 victory over Maryland on Wednesday night. Earlier this season, head coach Brad Underwood called this Illinois team a coach’s dream. Now, Underwood is gushing about one of his players, Andrej Stojakovic. “Yeah, I think the one thing you have to understand when you win is […]

Things look bleak for Illinois basketball as Kylan Boswell will be out for a month with a hand injury. A reality that head coach Brad Underwood is having a hard time processing, per Glenn Kinley of WCIA 3. During a post-game press conference on Wednesday, Underwood equated seeing Boswell go down with an injury to […]

The Illinois basketball team’s upcoming Big Ten schedule just got exponentially more difficult. The Illini will proceed down the stretch of the regular season without point guard Kylan Boswell, who will be sidelined with a significant hand injury suffered in practice. Illinois head coach Brad Underwood confirmed that Boswell will be out for “at least […]

Illinois head basketball coach Brad Underwood knows what he has with backup center Zvonimir Ivisic. The head coach acknowledged his 7-foot-2 “luxury” of a center after the latter’s big game in the Illini’s win over Minnesota to improve to 15-3. Illinois collected its seventh consecutive win on Saturday, which it arguably might not have secured […]

Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood did not mince words after watching Tomislav Ivisic deliver one of his most complete performances of the season, pushing back forcefully against what he believes has been a misleading narrative surrounding his star big man. Following Illinois’ 79-68 road win over the Northwestern Wildcats, Underwood addressed recent criticism […]

Since their loss to Nebraska back on Dec. 13, the Illinois Fighting Illini have rattled off five straight wins, with the latest being a 75-69 victory over Iowa. Following Illinois’ win against Iowa, Fighting Illini guard Kylan Boswell spoke about the tough practices that head coach Brad Underwood put the team through after that Nebraska […]

The fire is still burning for No. 16 Illinois men’s basketball. On Thursday, the Illini dominated Rutgers, 81-55. Nobody was more pleased than head coach Brad Underwood with the result. After the game, Underwood expressed absolute pleasure at how his team has performed as of late, per Fox College Hoops.  “It’s a coach’s dream,” he […]

The 2025 Illinois basketball season has been solid so far in Champaign. The Fighting Illini dominated the Missouri Tigers in a statement game before Christmas, 91-48, making history in the Braggin’ Rights rivalry. Illinois took control of the game against the Tigers from the jump and won the annual Braggin’ Rights rivalry game in St. […]

On Monday, No. 20 Illinois basketball dominated its way to a 43-point victory over Missouri in the annual Braggin’ Rights game. In the process, they secure a much-coveted trophy.  It was big man Tomislav Ivisic who received the trophy, and as he and his teammates celebrated, they asked him to break it, per Jeremy Werner […]

One week after suffering a heartbreaking loss to Nebraska, No. 20 Illinois bounced back big time. On Monday, they came out and dominated Missouri 91-48, a 43-point win.  In the process, Illinois etched its place into Braggin’ Rights history, per Carson Gaurdie of ABC News Channel 20. It turned out to be the series’s most […]

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood did not sugarcoat what he saw. After No. 13 Illinois suffered a gut-wrenching 83-80 loss to No. 23 Nebraska on a near buzzer-beater at State Farm Center, Underwood’s postgame remarks about freshman forward David Mirkovic quickly went viral and for good reason. “David was in Serbia today,” Underwood said. “He […]

Brad Underwood has tuned Illinois basketball into an NCAA Tournament fixture, and a destination for NBA Draft prospects. He guided the program to its first Elite Eight appearance in almost 20 years back in 2024. Now, the veteran head coach must figure out how to push the team to the next level. Keaton Wagler is […]

Illinois did not just beat Tennessee. The Illini embraced the city’s “Smashville” nickname and made it their own, punctuating a 75-62 win with a trophy celebration that turned downright rock-and-roll. when in smashville pic.twitter.com/SP1q0O3GPv — Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) December 7, 2025 After a physical, punishing matchup at Bridgestone Arena, players returned to the locker […]

The Illinois Fighting Illini basketball program received solid news on Thanksgiving by securing the first commitment of its 2027 class, marking a strong start to a crucial recruiting cycle. The early addition helps set the tone for Illinois recruiting, strengthens the foundation for the years ahead, and gives the program the momentum it seeks during […]

Some of the top men’s college basketball teams have been tested against top 25 teams on a regular basis already, while others are still fluffing their record with easy wins against small programs. Because of that, opinions are all over the board on how teams rank against their peers. So, here is ClutchPoints’ top 25 […]

The Illinois basketball team has picked up a good amount of wins so far this campaign. That doesn’t mean that head coach Brad Underwood is happy. Underwood bemoaned his team’s play, following a 87-73 win over Texas Rio Grande Valley Monday. “Tonight, we escaped. Didn’t shoot the ball very well and still scored close to […]

Brad Underwood made a clear statement involving the Final Four after the No. 8 Illinois Fighting Illini’s 90-86 loss to the No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide on Wednesday night. Going into the matchup, Illinois was off to a great start with a 4-0 record. They had wins over Jackson State, Florida Gulf Coast, ranked Texas […]

Alabama found the jolt it needed Wednesday night in Chicago, and it came from a player who had not taken the floor in any of the Crimson Tide’s first three regular-season games. Sophomore forward Keitenn Bristow made his debut in a 90-86 win over Illinois and delivered an impact that both head coaches said changed […]

The No. 8 Illinois Fighting Illini face their toughest test yet on Wednesday night against No. 11 Alabama at the United Center in Chicago. The 4-0 start has been impressive, but a major question looms over the matchup. Star center Tomislav Ivisic remains sidelined with a right knee bone bruise suffered in practice. Ivisic’s status […]

So far during the first couple of weeks of the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season, ranked teams have been dominating inferior competition. More high-profile matchups are right around the corner. While there will be more clarity after this week, a fair amount has already changed since ClutchPoints released the preseason power rankings, but how do […]

On Nov. 11, Illinois men’s basketball made a big statement by defeating Texas Tech 81-77. Then, Illinois was ranked No. 14 and Texas Tech was ranked No. 11. Fast forward one week, and Illinois finds itself in the Top 10 of the AP rankings, per On3Sports.com. They are now the No. 8 team in the […]

The 2025 Illinois basketball team has considerable potential to make a significant impact in the Big Ten and nationally, especially after its win over Texas Tech. One of the reasons is the emergence of all the European players they have brought to the team over the last two seasons. Their biggest key, Tomislav Ivisic, has […]

Andrej Stojakovic is on a mission to be just like his father, Peja. Peja Stojakovic was an elite hooper who could drain shots from anywhere on the court. His son plays just like him. Andrej started his career with Stanford two seasons ago and then transferred to Cal Berkeley ahead of last season. After one […]

After the Texas Tech basketball team lost to the Florida Gators in the Elite Eight last season, the program had high expectations heading into the current year. With the Texas Tech basketball program signing head coach Grant McCasland to an extension after the deep run in the tournament, the team is off to a 2-1 […]

Illinois basketball was a bit of a unique case last season, as the Illini were very competitive in Big Ten play but flamed out in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. This season, Brad Underwood and company are trying to raise the bar even more. The Illini got off to a good start with […]

Indeed, five games into the NBA season don’t determine the eventual outcome. But there is no denying that there is something special about the Chicago Bulls, and in particular, their interchangeable guard, Ayo Dosunmu.  On Friday, the Bulls defeated the New York Knicks by a score of 135-125 to start off 5-0. Plus, the last […]

The eastern European movement in Champaign, Illinois took a step forward on Monday when the NCAA cleared Illini men’s basketball’s Mihailo Petrovic to play. A point guard who has not yet played college basketball, Petrovic is classified as a sophomore with three years of eligibility, Illinois announced. The Illini will open the regular season on […]

When the Illinois Fighting Illini open up the 2025-26 season, they will an intriguing newcomer on their roster in big man Zvonimir Ivisic. Ivisic committed to Illinois after entering the transfer portal following last season, and he’s one of the more skilled centers in the Big Ten. But there was one major change that Zvonimir […]

When it comes to Illinois basketball coach Brad Underwood, who recently signed a six-year $4.4 million contract extension, he goes global. In other words, he makes it a point to recruit international players, and he does so for a reason, according to The Field of 68.  Ultimately, Underwood says he sees something overseas that others […]

The 2004-05 Illinois Fighting Illini team is arguably the greatest team in program history. With Bruce Weber as head coach and stars such as Deron Williams, Dee Brown and Luther Head, that Illinois team made it to the national championship game before falling to North Carolina, 75-70. Although that Fighting Illini team did not win […]

Since it was announced a few months ago that Illinois basketball guard Ty Rodgers would be out indefinitely with a knee injury, the fanbase has been wondering if there is a possible update regarding the junior. With the Illinois basketball team led by head coach Brad Underwood, he would give insight into a possible update […]

One of the biggest winners of the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft was Illinois basketball head coach Brad Underwood and the Fighting Illini as a program overall. Illinois had two players drafted in the first round, and they were drafted back-to-back. After Kasparas Jakučionis and Will Riley were drafted, this was the dawn […]

Night one of the 2025 NBA Draft was an exciting one for the Illinois basketball program as the Fighting Illini had two players drafted in the first round. Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley were both selected on Wednesday night, and to make the situation even cooler, they were taken on back-to-back picks. Jakucionis was selected […]