CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois narrowly passed its first major test of the season Tuesday night, outlasting No. 11 Texas Tech in a back-and-forth battle at State Farm Center that marked the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Tuesday night’s matchup at State Farm Center in Champaign marked the Illini’s first true test of the 2025-26 season, coming off two comfortable wins versus Jackson State and Florida Gulf Coast. Illinois leaned on Sophomore guard Andrej Stojaković and veteran guard Kylan Boswell to gain control of the game in the dying minutes while Orange Krush’s energy helped seal a defining November win.
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After an underwhelming debut against Florida Gulf Coast, Freshman guard Andrej Stojaković heavily contributed to the Illini’s offensive efficiency, boosting them to a 13-point halftime lead after shooting 5-for-5 from the field in the first half. After finding driving lanes in the paint to keep the Illinois ahead late in the second half, Stojaković finished with 23 points on 11-16 shooting and sealed the win with a decisive block in the last minute in his breakout game for the Illini.
“You’ve got a couple guards that are physical and downhill, and then you’ve got guys who can shoot it and create some space,” said Illinois head coach Brad Underwood. “Andrej is a tremendous value. He was much better tonight than he was the other night. The other night, he was a little sped up. I don’t think we played as fast tonight.”
On top of his stellar defensive presence, veteran guard Kylan Boswell was the engine for Illinois today finishing with 22 points, which was just enough to help him reach the 1,000 point career milestone.
Although the Illini were without forward Tomislav Ivišić, his twin brother Zvonimir and Big Ten Freshman of the Week David Mirkovic stepped up in the paint to fill the hole that Tomislav left. Big Z finished with 11 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks as Mirkovic tallied 11 points and 4 rebounds.
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International guard Mihailo Petrovic also remained sidelined after being listed as questionable in what would’ve been his Illinois debut.
The gritty matchup gave Illini fans their first look at how they would stack up against a ranked opponent and how far its depth and leadership have come since last season’s tournament run.
Stat Stuffers
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Boswell now has 1,001 collegiate points.
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Wagler finished with 11 points and 7 rebounds, 5 of which were offensive.
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Zvonimir Ivišić finished with 3 blocks.
Moments that Mattered
Looking Ahead
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Up next, the Illini host Colgate Friday, November 14 at 8pm.
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Illinois travels to the United Center Wednesday, November 19 to face off against No. 8 ranked Alabama.
