Lineups
No. 8 Illinois (5-1)
Starters
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Kylan Boswell Sr. 6-2 17.8 Champaign
G Keaton Wagler Fr. 6-6 16.2 Shawnee, Kan.
G Andrej Stojakovic Jr. 6-7 17.4 Thessaloniki, Greece
F David Mirkovic Fr. 6-9 16.0 Niksic, Montenegro
C Tomislav Ivisic Jr. 7-1 11.0 Vodice, Croatia
➜ FYI: Boswell and Stojakovic both rank in the top 20 in the Big Ten in scoring, with the former at 16th in the league and the latter at 18th. Only Southern Cal and Maryland have more players in the top 20 with three apiece. The Trojans have the most impressive scoring trio with Chad Baker-Mazara ranked first in the Big Ten scoring 22.5 points per game, Rodney Rice fourth at 20.5 points and Ezra Ausar tied for 13th at 18.3 points.
Off the bench
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
F Ben Humrichous Gr. 6-9 11.0 Tipton, Ind.
F/C Zvonimir Ivisi Jr. 7-2 7.5 Vodice, Croatia
G Mihailo Petrovic So. 6-2 3.5 Prokuplje, Serbia
UT Rio Grande Valley (2-3)
Starters
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Always Wright R-Jr. 6-3 5.6 Durango, Mexico
G Marvin McGhee III Gr. 6-4 15.0 Atlanta
G Koree Cotton Jr. 6-6 11.8 Miami
F Kye Dickson Sr. 6-7 6.8 Toronto
F Filip Brankovic Jr. 6-8 9.4 Indjija, Serbia
➜ FYI: Vaqueros coach Kahil Fennell has pieced together his own international-heavy roster. In addition to Wright, Dickson and Brankovic, UTRGV boasts another Canadian in Kwo Agwa, Australian forward Marshal Destremau and 7-footer Mustafo Vanjov out of Khorog, Tajikistan.
Off the bench
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Zae Blake Gr. 6-1 6.6 Washington, D.C.
G Jaylen Washington So. 5-10 6.4 Dallas
F Dane Christensen So. 6-8 7.2 Orem, Utah
Details
➜ Site: State Farm Center (15,544); Champaign.
➜ Radio: Brian Barnhart (play-by-play) and former Illini Doug Altenberger (analysis) will have the call on the Illini Sports Network on WDWS 1400-AM, WDWS 93.9-FM, WHMS 97.5-FM, WPXN 104.9-FM, WDAN-1490-AM, WDNL 102.1-FM, WSOY 1340-AM and WSOY 103.3-FM.
➜ TV: Jason Ross Jr. (play-by-play) and Bruce Weber (analysis) have the call on BTN.
➜ Series: Illinois leads 5-0.
➜ Last meeting: Illinois won 94-85 on Nov. 26, 2021, in Champaign, behind 38 points from Kofi Cockburn and 30 from Alfonso Plummer.
➜ FYI: UTRGV was created in 2013 when the Texas legislature combined Texas-Pan American and Texas-Brownsville. The former transitioned to the Division I level for the 1965-66 season and ultimately provided the first head coaching job for former Illinois coach Lon Kruger. Kruger spent four seasons in Edinburg, Texas, going 52-59 overall, with a 20-8 record in 1985-86 helping him get the job at his alma mater, Kansas State.
Beat writer Scott Richey’s storylines
More than a freshman scorer
Keaton Wagler ranks 26th overall in the Big Ten averaging 16.2 points through the first six games of his Illinois career. The 6-foot-6 guard ranks significantly higher among just freshmen, edging out teammate David Mirkovic for top honors in the conference among first-year players. Wagler has also impressed defensively, with Illinois coach Brad Underwood struck by his efforts on the ball and his activity even if the Shawnee, Kan., native has “a long way to go off the ball in terms of just being in gaps and using that length to produce steals and get his hands on things.”
“(Assistant coach and defensive coordinator Camryn Crocker) has really challenged me, especially early this season,” Wagler said. “Over the summer, I was running into screens. He’s really taught me how to use angles and use my length on defense. I’ve really tried to implement that into my game because if you don’t play defense at this level, you’re not going to play.”
Still the team leader on the glass
Mirkovic came up two rebounds short of his fifth double-double in six games in Saturday’s 98-58 win against Long Island. Eight rebounds for the 6-9 Montenegrin forward, though, still led the Illini. Mirkovic’s eight rebounds kept him near the top of the Big Ten’s leaders, though, with his 11.3 rebounds per game trailing only Washington’s Hannes Steinbach (12.8 rebounds) and Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn (11.8 rebounds).
“Just a nose for it,” Underwood said was Mirkovic’s strength on top of the team’s rebounding approach that plays the math with 75 percent of misses going either middle or opposite. “When you build a reputation as a rebounder, teams better account for you, and that frees it up for everybody else. Sometimes they’re going to send two to block you out, and that opens it up for (Andrej Stojakovic) and (Kylan Boswell) and Keaton. It’s very nice to have a guy like that who holds other teams accountable on the glass.”
Not overlooking the Vaqueros
Underwood said he marked Monday’s game against UTRGV on his calendar as soon as Illinois’ schedule was finalized. Both for its timing before a stretch that will see the Illini face Connecticut, Tennessee, Ohio State, Nebraska and Missouri in consecutive games and for the short turnaround for the Vaqueros following Saturday’s game.
“I do understand what’s after it,” Underwood said. “I’ve had this one marked because this is an NCAA tournament setup where you’ve got a quick turn, and it’s a quality opponent. … They have our full attention. I’m very curious to the quick turn and the approach that we take. We have to become pretty mature in how we handle that.”
The News-Gazette’s pick
No. 8 Illinois 97, UT Rio Grande Valley 61
The Vaqueros are the second-to-last low-major program on Illinois’ schedule, with a Dec. 29 date with Southern the final matchup. That makes UTRGV the last tune-up before a stretch of five straight games against power conference opponents, starting on Black Friday with Connecticut. One last opportunity to figure out a rotation now that everyone but Ty Rodgers is available. (News-Gazette prediction record: 5-1).
