B1G Basketball Previews 2026: Illinois Fighting Illini

Last Season

The Illini were...fine last year? They had to replace basically everyone and as a result were fairly inconsistent. They had one senior and their best player was a freshman. All in all, they turned in a very solid twenty win season and went 12-8 in conference. That was good for a 6th seed in the tourney, where they dispatched Xavier before being popped by Kentucky in the second round.

Defectors

• Said freshman Kasparas Jakucionis got drafted by the Miami Heat
• Fellow freshman Will Riley tested the waters and got picked by the Jazz then traded to the Wizards
• The portal grabbed Tre White (Kansas), Morez Johnson (Auburn North), Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (UNLV), and Carey Booth (Colorado State)

Starters

• PG Mihailo Petrovic, 6'3'' Freshman: Ah, the International Experience begins for the Illini. I listed Petrovic as a freshman. Illinois lists him as a sophomore. He's 22 and has been playing professional Euroball for years. I wonder if he has to live in the freshman dorms?
• SG Kylan Boswell, 6'2'' Senior: The former Arizona Wildcat can get up and go, which is a key part of the Illini Experience. He can play either guard position but is probably more natural as a shooter. His outside shooting was a problem last year: he shot over 38% at Arizona from three but less than 25% last season. Get that back up and Boswell will be in the mix with all the other great guards in the B1G.
• SF Andrej Stojakovic, 6'7'' Junior: Stojakovic, son of Peja, is actually not a Euroball guy. He was a big time recruit and spent a mostly sad season at Stanford before going to Cal and blossoming into something. His scoring efficiency wasn't great, but he will be surrounded by a much better cast this year, so the hope is he isn't the whole offense anymore.
• PF Ben Humrichous, 6'9'' Senior: The former NAIA star is back, probably to be maligned by Illinois fans again. He wasn't bad last season in his transition to the B1G, and got a lot of minutes mostly from being a dependable Old Guy. His trademark outside shooting was just All Right, so he probably needs to improve that to stay on the court this year.
• C Tomislav Ivisic, 7'1'' Junior: Everyone calls him a second year junior, so I guess I will too. Last season, as a first year sophomore, Ivisic was a very efficient big man who hit all the marks you want in scoring and rebounding. He's also a very willing outside shooter and it won't be surprising if he's competing with Nate Bittle for First Team B1G at the end of the season.

Bench

• C Zvonimir Ivisic, 7'2'' Junior: Tomislav's twin brother has been on a circuitous route from Kentucky to Arkansas and now to Illinois. He has a pretty similar game to his brother and can also shoot outside, so I wouldn't be surprised if we sometimes see them playing together.
• PF David Mirkovic, 6'9'' Freshman: I usually put all the freshmen together, but this Euroball prospect feels like he will play a lot. He led the team in minutes in their exhibition against Illinois State and it wouldn't be crazy to see him starting. He profiles as an athletic big man who can score from every level. At least he did in Serbia.
• SF Ty Rodgers, 6'6'' Junior: Rodgers is still kicking around the Illini. After struggling to find a role, he redshirted last season and bypassed the portal to come back. Unfortunately, he's been struggling with a knee injury and it is unclear when or if he will play this season.
• SF Jake Davis, 6'6'' Junior: Jake Davis and his Wild Mop of Ginger played a few minutes a game last year to minimal effect. He shows the chops of having some offense, so we'll see if he can fight through the Balkan Nations to get some minutes.
• Three other freshmen to speak of. Forward Jason Jakstys redshirted last season and should debut this year. Fresh out of high school are four star guards Jason Lee and Keaton Wagler.

Outlook

I am pretty into this team. Brad Underwood has shown he can put teams together, and this team is filled with grown men. Playmakers, size, shooting, potentially a deep bench: there isn't much missing here. I picked them to win the conference, and even if they don't meet that standard, they should be pretty fun to watch.

BoilerUp89: I'm concerned about consistency because a) I'm always concerned about that with Underwood's teams and b) I consider Boswell to be a very streaky shooter. There's quite a bit of talent here and no obvious flaws but I'm not bought in yet. The ceiling is very high but the floor is significantly lower than Michigan, Purdue, or UCLA.