#14 Illinois Secures First Ranked Win With Thrilling Triumph Over #11 Texas Tech

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – #14 Illinois earned its first ranked victory of the season with an 81-77 win over #11 Texas Tech in a top-15 thriller at State Farm Center on Tuesday night.

Andrej Stojakovic led the Illini with 23 points on 11-16 shooting in his second game at Illinois. He started the game perfect on his first five shots and surged down the stretch, collecting 13 second-half points. He also grabbed three rebounds, two blocks, and an assist. One of his blocks came at a crucial time, deflecting a would-be game-tying three with nine seconds remaining.

Veteran guard Kylan Boswell provided a steady offensive effort against Texas Tech, dropping 22 points with three triples and nine free throws. He led the team with three assists.

Zvonimir Ivisic had a well-rounded night, putting up 11 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks. He sank two of his four 3-point attempts. Ivisic's three blocks against TTU brought him to 10 over the last two games.

The starting freshman duo of David Mirkovic and Keaton Wagler combined for 22 points, 11 apiece. Mirkovic recorded four rebounds and two steals, while Wagler grabbed seven boards, including five on the offensive glass. 

After Texas Tech opened up scoring with a 7-0 run, Illinois was quick to respond with an 11-0 stretch, including three triples. The Illini then took a 16-10 lead before the Red Raiders tied it up at 16. 

Scoring was even for most of the first 20 minutes until Illinois went on an 11-2 run to conclude the first half and entered the break with a 45-32 lead. Boswell led the Illini with 12 in the half, while Stojakovic had 10 on perfect 5-5 shooting and hit a buzzer-beating layup at the end of the period. 

Texas Tech came out of the locker room hot, opening up the second half by sinking its first 11 shots from the field. The visitors went on a two-minute, 9-0 run to tie up the game at 56 with 13 minutes remaining.

The Fighting Illini went back in front with a 7-2 run to retake a four-point edge, but the visitors responded with an identical 7-2 stretch to briefly go back ahead with just under nine minutes remaining.

Holding the Red Raiders scoreless for the next four minutes, the Illini used that defensive stretch to go on an 8-0 run and grab a 72-65 advantage with five minutes left. The sides traded baskets over the next few minutes, with the Orange and Blue entering the final 60 seconds with a five-point edge.

With that lead down to three with under 15 seconds to go, Stojakovic made a big block on a 3-point attempt, which would have tied the game. A late Wagler free throw ultimately sealed the Illini's ranked home victory.

#14 Illinois returns to State Farm Center on Friday night against Colgate. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. CT on B1G+.

HIGHLIGHTS

PRESS CONFERENCE

POSTGAME NOTES

Player Notes

• Andrej Stojakovic came off the bench to score a team-high 23 points and added two blocks.
  • Posted a season-high 23 points, his most in an Illini uniform after tallying nine points in his debut last Friday.
  • The first Illini to come off the bench and score 20+ points against a top 25-ranked opponent since Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 26 against #21 Northwestern 2/23/23
    • Finished 11-for-16 from the field after a perfect 5-for-5 start in the first half. 
  • Made a game-saving play with his second block of the game on three-point attempt by Texas Tech's Christian Anderson with nine second to play and the Illini holding an 80-77 lead.  
• Kylan Boswell posted 22 points and two rebounds with a team-high three assists.
  • Recorded his 11th consecutive game in double-figures scoring dating back to last season
    • Leads the team with 27 career games of 10+ points as an Illini. 
  • Eclipsed 1,000 points for his college career (1,001)
    • Has scored 493 points at Illinois after posting 508 points in two seasons at Arizona.
    • Earned his 1,000th collegiate point on a free throw with 12 seconds left in the game.
  • Knocked down a team-most three 3-pointers.
    • Had at least three triples for the 18th time in his career and did so for the third time in an Illinois uniform.
• David Mirkovic totaled 11 points, four rebounds, two steals, and an assist.
  • Recorded the third straight game in double-figures scoring to open his college career..
  • Grabbed his first two steals of his career.
• Zvonimir Ivisic recorded 11 points, tied for the team lead with seven rebounds, and tallied three blocks.
  • Second straight game with double-digit points
  • Recorded all three blocks in the first half.
    • Has 10 blocks across the Illini's last two games.
• Keaton Wagler collected 11 points and tied Zvonimir Ivisic for the team lead with seven rebounds.
  • Shot 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
    • Sealed the win with his free throw with six seconds remaining. 
  • Five of his seven rebounds came on the offensive glass.
    • His seven rebounds tie a personal best set in his debut Nov. 3 vs. Jackson State. 
    • Is the first Illini to have five offensive boards in a game since Kasparas Jakucionis vs Maryland 3/14/25. 
  • Averaging 17.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, including 4.3 offensive boards per contest, through the first three games of his college career.

Team Notes

• Starters: Kylan Boswell, Keaton Wagler, Jake Davis, David Mirkovic, and Zvonimir Ivisic
• Tuesday's attendance of 15,544 marked the second consecutive sellout crowd at State Farm Center. 
  • Through three home games, the Illini are averaging 15,200 fans per game (98% capacity)
  • Last season the Illini played in front of 12 sellout crowds at State Farm Center and ranked 11th nationally with an average attendance of 15,091. 
• Illinois has won five straight games at State Farm Center, overall, and four consecutive vs. nonconference opponents dating back to last season.
  • The win is the first home win vs. a top 25-ranked nonconference opponent under head coach Brad Underwood.
  • The Fighting Illini earned a 3-0 start for the fifth time in the Underwood era, and the third time in the last four seasons..
• The Illini captured their highest-ranked home win since beating #11 Wisconsin inside the State Farm Center on Feb. 2, 2022.
• The Illini used an 11-0 run over a three-minute stretch to take their first lead of the night early in the first half, 11-7.
• Illinois closed the first half on an 11-2 run to take a 45-32 lead into the break.
• Illinois held Texas Tech scoreless for a four-minute stretch in the second half, during which the Illini went on an 8-0 run to go ahead 72-65 and never trailed again.
• Illinois held Texas Tech to just four free-throw attempts in the game, all coming in the second half. 
• The Illini scored 14 second-chance points on 11 offensive rebounds.
  • UI has 10+ offensive boards in all three games this season.
• Illinois scored 29 points on 13 Red Raider turnovers.
  • The Illini outscored Texas Tech in this category, 29-16.
• The Illini bench outscored its Red Raider counterparts, 26-7, with 23 of those points coming from Andrej Stojakovic. .
• Five players — Boswell, Z. Ivisic, Mirkovic, Stojakovic, and Wagler —  scored in double-digits. That group combined for 78 of the Illini's 81 points.