University of Illinois
Cincinnati (Exh.)
Illinois Opens Exhibition Play at Cincinnati
October 17, 2026 | Men's Basketball
News
| ILLINOIS at Cincinnati (Exh.) | |
|---|---|
| Date | Time | Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026 | 4 p.m. CT (5 p.m. ET) |
| Location | Cincinnati, Ohio | Fifth Third Arena |
| Buy Tickets | Ticketmaster |
| TV/Stream | None |
| Live Stats | StatBroadcast |
| Printable Notes | Illinois |
| Pregame Press Conference | Coach Underwood (Oct. 16) |
| 2025-26 Stats | Illinois | Cincinnati |
| Shop | Online Store | Auctions |
| Social Media | @IlliniMBB  | #Illini | @IlliniMBB  | Facebook  | YouTube  |
| Illinois Roster (2025-26 college stats listed) | |||||||||
| Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Elig. | PPG | RPG | APG | Note |
| F | 0 | David Mirkovic | 6-9 | 250 | So. | 13.3 | 8.0 | 2.6 | CBS Sports Preseason All-American |
| G | 1 | Lincoln Williams | 6-5 | 180 | Fr. | - | - | - | Career scoring leader at Kankakee High |
| G | 2 | Andrej Stojakovic | 6-7 | 205 | Sr. | 13.5 | 4.5 | 1.0 | NCAA South All-Region Team |
| G | 5 | Quentin McCoy | 6-1 | 170 | Jr. | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | Played last two seasons at Arizona State |
| G | 7 | Stefan Vaaks | 6-7 | 215 | So. | 15.8 | 2.5 | 3.2 | Big East All-Frehman Team at Providence |
| G | 8 | Blake Fagbemi | 6-0 | 180 | So. | 0.2 | 1.0 | 0.4 | Appeared in 11 games as a freshman |
| G | 11 | Quentin Coleman | 6-4 | 180 | Fr. | - | - | - | MaxPreps first-team All-American |
| C | 13 | Tomislav Ivisic | 7-1 | 270 | 5th | 10.4 | 5.6 | 1.6 | 105 3FG last two years, 1st in NCAA by 7-footer |
| F | 15 | Jake Davis | 6-6 | 210 | Sr. | 5.4 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 40.6% 3FG to lead Illini (54-133) |
| F | 22 | Zavier Zens | 6-7 | 215 | Fr. | - | - | - | Gatorade Wisconsin Player of the Year |
| G | 23 | Lucas Morillo | 6-7 | 210 | Fr. | - | - | - | New England Prep Player of the Year |
| F | 27 | Landon Davis | 6-9 | 220 | Fr. | - | - | - | Iowa first-team All-State |
| C | 31 | Jason Jakstys | 6-10 | 220 | Jr. | 1.3 | 1.9 | 0.2 | Played in nine games last season |
| G | 34 | Ethan Brown | 6-4 | 185 | Fr. | - | - | - | Missouri first-team All-State |
| F/C | 44 | Zvonimir Ivisic | 7-2 | 250 | 5th | 6.4 | 4.5 | 0.3 | 72 blocked shots, 3rd-most in UI history |
Head Coach Brad Underwood
Career Record: 302-137 (.688), 14th year
At Illinois: 193-110 (.637), 10th year
Big Ten: 107-71 (.601)
Preview
Illinois plays its first of three exhibition games on Saturday afternoon at Cincinnati (4 p.m. CT). There is no video stream for the match-up, but fans can follow the action via livestats.
Fighting Illini Basketball has high expectations entering the 2026-27 season, appearing in the Top 5 of numerous preseason rankings, including No. 4 in kenpom. Head coach Brad Underwood welcomes back five rotation players from the NCAA Final Four run in David Mirkovic, Andrej Stojakovic, Tomislav Ivisic, Zvonimir Ivisic, and Jake Davis while adding an impact transfer in Stefan Vaaks from Providence and a top-15 recruiting class consisting of six freshmen highlighted by High School All-American Quentin Coleman.
Illinois is coming off its first Final Four appearance in 21 years, a 28-9 record to mark the fourth-most wins in school history, and a Big Ten runner-up finish. Illinois remains the winningest team in Big Ten play this decade and is one of four programs nationally with seven straight 20-win regular seasons.
