#14 Fighting Illini Welcome Colgate for Friday Night Tilt at State Farm Center – University of Illinois Athletics

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PROBABLE STARTERS (based on previous game)

Pos.
No.
Name
Ht.
Wt.
Yr.
PPG
RPG
APG
Note

G
4
Kylan Boswell
6-2
215
Sr.
21.0
5.7
3.7
22 points vs #11 TTU, eclipsed 1,000 for career

G
23
Keaton Wagler
6-6
185
Fr.
17.0
6.7
2.3
Team-leading 4.3 offensive rebounds/game

F
15
Jake Davis
6-6
215
Jr.
5.3
2.3
1.3
Hit three 3-pointers in season opener

F
0
David Mirkovic
6-9
250
Fr.
15.7
9.7
2.0
Inaugural Big Ten Freshman of the Week  

F/C
44
Zvonimir Ivisic
7-2
250
Jr.
10.3
8.3
0.7
7 blocks vs. FGCU, 2nd most in Illini history

OFF THE BENCH

Pos.
No.
Name
Ht.
Wt.
Yr.
PPG
RPG
APG
Note

G
1
Brandon Lee
6-4
195
Fr.
–
–
–
2,000-point scorer at The Patrick School

G
2
Andrej Stojakovic
6-7
215
Jr.
16.0
4.0
2.0
23 points in win vs. #11 Texas Tech

F
3
Ben Humrichous
6-9
235
Gr.
11.0
5.3
1.3
21 points with five 3-pointers in opener

G
5
AJ Redd
6-3
170
Sr.
2.5
0.5
0.0
Former team manager

G
8
Blake Fagbemi
6-0
180
Fr.
1.0
2.0
1.5
2 pts, 3 rebs, 2 ast in college debut

C
13
Tomislav Ivisic
7-1
255
Jr.
21.0
4.0
0.0
Abdul-Jabbar Award & Naismith Trophy watch lists

G/F
20
Ty Rodgers
6-6
210
r-Jr.
–
–
–
Out indefinitely following knee surgery

C
31
Jason Jakstys
6-10
225
r-Fr.
2.0
3.3
0.7
9 rebounds in Illini debut vs. Jackson St.

G
77
Mihailo Petrovic
6-2
180
So.
–
–
–
Played for Mega Superbet in Adriatic League

Head Coach Brad Underwood

Career Record: 277-128 (.684), 13th year
At Illinois: 168-101 (.625), 9th year
Big Ten: 92-66 (.580)

Series History vs. Colgate

All-Time Record: Illinois leads 5-0
Last Meeting: #16 Illinois 74, Colgate 57 (Dec. 17, 2023 in Champaign)
Record in Champaign: Illinois leads 4-0
Underwood vs. Colgate: 1-0

OPENING TIPS

• No. 14 Illinois (3-0) closes a four-game, season-opening homestand on Friday night, hosting Colgate (1-2) at State Farm Center (8 p.m. CT / B1G+). 
• Illinois carries a five-game home winning streak into the contest. Under head coach Brad Underwood, the Illini have won 32 consecutive nonconference home games against unranked opponents.
• The Fighting Illini are off to a 3-0 start to their 121st season of men’s basketball, and are coming off a thrilling 81-77 victory over #11 Texas Tech on Tuesday night following blowout wins over Jackson State and Florida Gulf Coast. Illinois is looking to start 4-0 for the third time under Brad Underwood, and first since 2022-23. 
• Andrej Stojakovic (23 points) and Kylan Boswell (22 points) led the Illini in the win over Texas Tech. Stojakovic also recorded three steals and two blocks, including a rejection on TTU’s game-tying 3-point attempt with nine seconds left. Boswell, who eclipsed 1,000-career points in the game, led the team with three 3-pointers and played stifling defense to slow down Red Raiders’ All-American J.T. Toppin late in the game. 
• Illinois’ win over #11 Texas Tech was the program’s highest-ranked victory since a 109-77 win at No. 9 Oregon on Jan. 2, 2025. It also marked the team’s highest-ranked win at State Farm Center since beating No. 11 Wisconsin, 80-67, Feb. 2, 2022, and the Illini’s first ranked nonconference home win of the Underwood era. Underwood has led the Illini to 30 ranked wins, including 28 since the start of the 2019-20 season, tied for the eight-most nationally during that span.
• Illinois leads the Big Ten and ranks fourth in the nation in rebound margin (+22.3 rpg).
• Illinois moved up three spots this week to No. 14 in the AP Top 25 and remain at 14 in the Coaches poll. The Illini have been ranked in the AP Top 25 in each of the last seven seasons under Brad Underwood. 
• Illinois is No. 4 in the current kenpom rankings with the No. 3 offense (123.1) and the No. 13 defense (94.7). 
• The Illini have had an overall rating of 35th or better each of the last six years under Brad Underwood with a high of No. 4 (2020-21). Illinois posted consecutive top-20 rankings in 2023-24 (10th) and 2024-25 (17th).
• Friday’s game vs. Colgate leads into a 17-day stretch in which the Illini will face three premier matchups vs. top 25-ranked nonconference opponent on neutral floors: Nov. 19 vs. #8 Alabama (United Center, Chicago), Nov. 28 vs. #2 UConn (Madison Square Garden, New York), and Dec. 6 vs. #20 Tennessee (Bridgestone Arena, Nashville). During that span, the Illini will also play two home games in three days at State Farm Center, Nov. 22  vs. Long Island and Nov. 24 vs. UT Rio Grande Valley. 
• Expectations are high once again in Champaign, with the Illini returning three starters from last year’s team that won 22 games, advanced to the NCAA Round of 32, and finished the year ranked 17th in kenpom.
• Illinois is the winningest team in Big Ten play since 2019-20, with 81 league wins over the previous six seasons, tied with Purdue. During that stretch, the Illini lead the conference with 34 road wins in league play. When including the conference tournament, Illinois is also tied with Purdue for the most total wins against B1G opponents over this span with 88. 
• Forward David Mirkovic was named Monday as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after back-to-back double-doubles to open his college career against Jackson State (19 points, 14 rebounds) and Florida Gulf Coast (18 points, 11 rebounds) while becoming the first Illini freshman to record a double-double in his college debut since Kofi Cockburn in 2019. Mirkovic averaged 18.0 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists on the week.

ILLINOIS VS. COLGATE

• Friday’s matchup is the sixth all-time between the Fighting Illini and the Colgate Raiders. 
• The series began during the Illini’s 1948-49 Big Ten Championship season when the UI picked up a pair of late-December home wins over Colgate on consecutive days: 77-54 (12/29/48) and 85-55 (12/30/48).
• Brad Underwood is 1-0 all-time vs. Colgate, having led the 16th-ranked Illini to a 74-57 home win on Dec.17, 2023, one of 29 victories during the Illini’s run to the 2024 Big Ten Tournament Championship and NCAA Elite Eight appearance. 
  • Ty Rodgers played a career-high 34:55 in the contest, posting four points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
• Illinois assistant coach and defensive coordinator Camryn Crocker will matchup against his former program, having joined Brad Underwood’s Illini staff from Colgate after working the three previous seasons under Raiders’ coach Matt Langel. 
• Illinois is 12-2 (.857) all-time against the current 10-team membership of the Patriot League, including a perfect 9-0 mark at State Farm Center.  

B1G+ LIVE STREAM

• Fans unable to attend Friday’s game can watch Illinois vs. Colgate online with a subscription to B1G+, a streaming service of non-televised events produced by Big Ten Network.
• Fans can purchase an annual pass for $89.99/year or a monthly pass for $12.99/month. Subscribers get access to live streaming of non-televised games, next day on-demand archives, and access to Big Ten Network’s library of previous season classics and originals.

TAKING ON THE TOP

• Fans unable to attend Friday’s game can watch Illinois vs. Colgate online with a subscription to B1G+, a streaming service of non-televised events produced by Big Ten Network.
• Fans can purchase an annual pass for $89.99/year or a monthly pass for $12.99/month. Subscribers get access to live streaming of non-televised games, next day on-demand archives, and access to Big Ten Network’s library of previous season classics and originals.
• Illinois has 28 victories over ranked opponents since the start of the 2019-20 season, another highlight of the job Brad Underwood has done rebuilding the Fighting Illini program.
• The Illini’s 28 ranked wins since 2019-20 are tied for eighth nationally over the last seven seasons:
  Top-25 Wins (2019-20 – Present)
  1. Kansas – 38
  T2. Baylor – 35
  T2. Tennessee – 35
  4. Purdue – 33
  T5. Alabama – 32
  T5. Mich. St. – 32
  7. Texas – 31
  T8. Illinois – 28
  T8. UConn – 28
  T10. Creighton – 27
  T10. Gonzaga – 27
  12. Iowa State – 26

MIRKOVIC DOUBLE-DOUBLES

• Fighting Illini freshman F David Mirkovic – the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week – has impressed early in his college career. Mirkovic posted back-to-back double-doubles with 19 points and 14 rebounds vs. Jackson State, and 17 points and 11 boards vs. Florida Gulf Coast in his first two games as an Illini. 
• Mirkovic became the first Illinois true freshman since Kofi Cockburn in 2019 to post a double-double in the Illini’s season-opener. 
• In Tuesday’s win over #11 Texas Tech, Mirkovic scored 11 points, reaching double-figures scoring for a third consecutive game, with four rebounds (two offensive), and a pair of steals. 
• Mirkovic’s two double-doubles rank sixth nationally. and first in the Big Ten. He leads the team and ranks seventh nationally at 9.7 rebounds per game, and his 7.67  defensive rebounds per game are fourth in the conference and 23rd in the nation.  
• Entering Friday’s game vs. Colgate, Mirkovic is one of only two freshmen in the nation averaging better than 15.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, joining Duke’s Cameron Boozer (18.3 ppg, 9.7 rpg). 

WAGLER’S STRONG START

• Fighting Illini freshman G Keaton Wagler is one of two true freshmen to start each of the Illini’s first three games – joining David Mirkovic – and has excelled in nearly all phases of the game to begin his college career. 
• Wagler enter Friday’s game vs. Colgate ranking third on the team in both scoring (17.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg), and No. 2 in assists (2.3 apg) behind Kylan Boswell. 
• Wagler scored 18 in his debut vs. Jackson State before notching the first 20-point game of his career vs. FGCU (22 points). 
• In the Illini’s 81-77 victory over #11 Texas Tech, Wagler posted 11 points (5-6 FTs) and tied for the team lead with seven rebounds, including a game-high five offensive boards. 
• Wagler leads the Fighting Illini with 20 free-throws made (third in the B1G), 4.3 offensive rebounds per game (fifth in the B1G), and a free-throw percentage of .870 (15th in the B1G).
• Wagler, at 4.3 offensive rebounds per game, ranks fourth nationally among freshmen, overall. At 6-feet, six inches, he and St. John’s 6-4 guard Kelvin Odih (4.0) are the only freshmen in the nation 6-7 or shorter to average at least 4.0 offensive boards per contest. 

HIGH-SCORING ILLINI

• Under head coach Brad Underwood, the Fighting Illini have regularly produced some of the most exciting offensive team’s in program history. 
• The Illini closed the 2024-25 season as the highest-scoring team in the Big Ten Conference, averaging 83.6 points per game. It was Illinois’ highest scoring average in 31 years, since the 1993-94 team put up 84.0 points per game.
• Entering the 2025-26 season, kenpom projected the Fighting Illini’s adjusted offensive efficiency as the No. 6 mark in the country at 120.5 points per 100 possessions. 
• The Illini are averaging 102.3 points per game through the team’s first three contests, including back-to-back games with 113 points in wins vs. Jackson State on Nov. 3 and Florida Gulf Coast on Nov. 7. 
• The Illini have now crossed the century mark 14 times in the Brad Underwood era. 
• The team’s 307 combined points are the most in a three-game stretch since scoring 316 from Nov. 23 – Dec, 2, 2019 with a 2-1 mark vs. Hampton (W, 120-71), Lindenwood (W, 117-65), and Miami (L, 81-79). 
• The Illini have posted five of the program’s top 20 all-time, three-game scoring marks in the Underwood era.

HIGHLIGHTING ILLINOIS’ STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

• Illinois head coach Brad Underwood believes in putting together a rigorous schedule to prepare for Big Ten play, and that has resulted in the Fighting Illini annually competing against some of the nation’s strongest schedules over the last eight seasons. 
• Since leading the Fighting Illini against kenpom’s No. 58 schedule in his first season in 2018, Underwood and the Illini have faced top-25 slates in six of the last seven season:
  • No. 58 in 2017-18
  • No. 13 in 2018-19
  • No. 25 in 2019-20
  • No. 5 in 2020-21
  • No. 17 in 2021-22
  • No. 36 in 2022-23
  • No. 17 in 2023-24
  • No. 4 in 2024-25
• The 2025-26 season will be another tough test for the Illini. The Big Ten schedule will include eight league games against teams that participated in the 2025 NCAA Tournament and five contests against teams in the preseason AP Top 25.
• The Illini are also in the midst of one of the nation’s most challenging nonconference slates, which features several matchups against power conference opponents in November and December. 
  • Nov. 11 vs. #11 Texas Tech – W, 81-77
  • Nov. 19 vs. #8 Alabama (Chicago, Ill.)
  • Nov. 28 vs. #3 UConn (New York, N.Y.)
  • Dec. 6 vs. #20 Tennessee (Nashville, Tenn.)
  • Dec. 22 vs. Missouri (St. Louis, Mo.)
• All five marquee non-conference opponents entered the 2025-26 season on the heels of NCAA Tournament runs, with Alabama (East / 2 Seed), Tennessee (Midwest / 2 Seed), and Texas Tech (West / 3 Seed) all making the Elite 8. UConn (West / 8 Seed) and Missouri (West / 6 Seed) closed in the Round of 32 and Round of 64, respectively.