| PROBABLE STARTERS (based on previous game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
4 |
Kylan Boswell |
6-2 |
215 |
Sr. |
18.5 |
5.3 |
3.8 |
22 points vs #11 TTU, eclipsed 1,000 for career |
| G |
23 |
Keaton Wagler |
6-6 |
185 |
Fr. |
17.5 |
6.5 |
2.3 |
Team-leading 4.0 offensive rebounds/game |
| G |
2 |
Andrej Stojakovic |
6-7 |
215 |
Jr. |
13.7 |
4.0 |
2.0 |
23 points vs. #11 Texas Tech; 1st start vs. Colgate |
| F |
0 |
David Mirkovic |
6-9 |
250 |
Fr. |
18.5 |
12.5 |
2.3 |
1st 20-pt, 20-reb game by an Illini since 1972 |
| F/C |
44 |
Zvonimir Ivisic |
7-2 |
250 |
Jr. |
8.5 |
6.5 |
0.5 |
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 |
| F |
3 |
Ben Humrichous |
6-9 |
235 |
Gr. |
10.9 |
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 |
| F |
15 |
Jake Davis |
6-6 |
215 |
Jr. |
5.3 |
2.5 |
1.0 |
Hit three 3-pointers in season opener |
| G/F |
20 |
Ty Rodgers |
6-6 |
210 |
r-Jr. |
- |
- |
- |
Out indefinitely following knee surgery |
| C |
31 |
Jason Jakstys |
6-10 |
225 |
r-Fr. |
1.5 |
2.8 |
0.5 |
9 rebounds in Illini debut vs. Jackson St. |
| G |
77 |
Mihailo Petrovic |
6-2 |
180 |
So. |
- |
- |
- |
Played for Mega Superbet in Adriatic League |
Career Record: 278-128 (.685), 13th year
At Illinois: 169-101 (.626), 9th year
Big Ten: 92-66 (.580)
Series History vs. Alabama
All-Time Record / Streak: Alabama leads 4-1 / Alabama W4
Record at Neutral Site: Alabama leads 2-0
Last Meeting: #8 Alabama 100, #25 Illinois 87 (Nov. 20, 2024 in Birmingham, Ala.)
Underwood vs. Alabama: 0-1
OPENING TIPS
- No. 8 Illinois (4-0) faces No. 11 Alabama (2-1) in a top-15 matchup Wednesday in Chicago at the United Center.
- Wednesday marks the 57th game the Illini will play at the United Center, dating back to the 1994-95 season. Illinois owns an all-time record of 38-18 (.679) at the UC (see all-time list of games on page 2).
- Illinois played at least one regular season game at the United Center from 1994 through 2018, along with multiple Big Ten Tournament appearances and one NCAA Tournament trip. Illinois' last visit to the UC was for the 2023 B1G Tournament. This is Illinois' first regular season game at the UC since Dec. 5, 2018, and its first non-conference regular season game since Dec. 16, 2017.
- Illinois moved up six spots to No. 8 this week in both the AP Top 25 and the coaches poll, the team's highest November ranking since reaching No. 5 on Nov. 30, 2020. The Illini have been ranked in the AP Top 25 in each of the last seven seasons under Brad Underwood.
- Illinois has 28 victories over ranked opponents since the start of the 2019-20 season, ninth-most nationally. The Illini earned their first ranked win this season last Tuesday, defeating No. 11 Texas Tech.
- David Mirkovic turned in a historic 27-point, 21-rebound double-double effort in the Illini's win over Colgate on Nov. 14, and scored 11 points vs. No. 11 Texas Tech, to earn his second straight Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor. Against Colgate, Mirkovic broke the Illinois freshman rebounding record and became the first Illini in 53 seasons to post a 20-20 game. He is one of only two players nationally averaging better than 18.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per game through at least three contests, along with Kent State senior Delrecco Gillespie.
- Andrej Stojakovic (23 points) and Kylan Boswell (22 points) led the Illini in the win over No. 11 Texas Tech on Nov. 11. 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 No. 11 Texas Tech was its 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. Brad Underwood has led the Illini to 30 ranked wins, including 28 since the 2019-20 season, ninth-most nationally during that span.
- Illinois is off to a 4-0 start for the first time since 2022-23, and the third time under Brad Underwood.
- Illinois leads the Big Ten in rebound margin (+21.8 rpg), total rebounds per game (48.8), and scoring margin (+31.0), marks that rank second, ninth, and 14th in the nation, respectively. The Illini also lead the nation in fewest fouls per game (11.3).
- Illinois is No. 6 in the kenpom rankings with the No. 3 offensive rating (123.8) and the No. 16 defensive rating (95.8) in the country. Alabama enters Wednesday's contest at No. 20 overall and the No. 12 offense (121.4).
- The Illini have had an overall kenpom 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).
- 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 B1G 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.
ILLINOIS VS. ALABAMA
- Wednesday's contest at Chicago's United Center is the sixth meeting between #8 Illinois and #11 Alabama and the second straight matchup with both programs ranked inside the top 25.
- Last year, #8 Alabama beat #25 Illinois, 100-87, at the C.M. Newton Classic in Birmingham, Ala.
- The Crimson Tide hold a 4-1 lead and have won four straight since the #9 Fighting Illini captured the first meeting, 77-54, on Dec. 12, 1953, in Champaign.
- Wednesday's game is the third neutral-site matchup in the series. The fourth-seeded Illini fell to the fifth-seeded Tide in the second round the NCAA Tournament's Southeast Region, March 16, 1986, in Charlotte, N.C.
- Illinois hosted Alabama in the NIT First Round on March 13, 1996, dropping a 72-69 decision in the final game of head coach Lou Henson's storied Illini career.
- No. 11-ranked Alabama (2-1) will play its first game since an 87-80 home loss to then-No. 2 Purdue last Thursday. The matchup with the Boilermakers was the first of four regular-season games for the Crimson Tide against three opponents common to the Illini schedule. In addition to Alabama, the Illini are also slated to play SEC foes Tennessee (Dec. 6 in Nashville, Tenn.), which will face Alabama twice this season, and Missouri (Dec. 22 in St. Louis). Illinois plays at Purdue on Jan. 24.
- The Illinois men's basketball program is a combined 90-55 all-time against the current 16-team membership of the Southeastern Conference.
- Illinois head coach Brad Underwood is 10-11 in his career vs. current SEC programs. During his time at Illinois he is 6-8 against the current membership of the SEC, including a 2-3 mark last season with wins over #19 Arkansas (90-77) and Mizzou (80-77), and losses vs. #8 Alabama (100-87), at home vs. #1 Tennessee (66-64) and vs. #18 Kentucky (84-75) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
ILLINI WHEN TOP-10 RANKED
- Illinois is ranked inside the AP top 10 for the 243rd week in program history and the first time since reaching #6 in the final poll of the 2023-24 season.
- Illinois is 327-107 (.753) all-time in 434 games when ranked in the AP top 10.
- When top-10 ranked, the Illini are 170-11 at home (110-7 at State Farm Center), 82-72 on the road, and 75-24 in neutral-site contests.
- Illinois enters Wednesday vs. #11 Alabama looking for its first win of the season as a top-10 ranked team, and the program's first such victory since defeating #4 Iowa State, 72-69, on a neutral floor at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., in the 2024 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
Taking on the Top
- 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 ninth nationally over the last seven seasons:
Top-25 Wins (2019-20 - Present)
1. Kansas – 38
T2. Baylor – 35
T2. Tennessee – 35
4. Purdue – 34
T5. Alabama – 32
T5. Mich. St. – 32
7. Texas – 31
8. UConn – 29
9. Illinois – 28
T10. Creighton – 27
T10. Gonzaga – 27
12. Iowa State – 26
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.
- Through four games, the Illini are averaging 97.7 points per game, on pace for the tp mark in program history set in 1965 at 92.2 ppg. The team's 391 total points through four games are the most in program history to start a season, just one point ahead of the 2014-15 team's point total through four contests.
- The Illini opened the season with back-to-back games of 113 points and have now crossed the century mark 14 times in the Brad Underwood era.
