The Illini tested very well in West Lafayette, and we can think of at least one performance for which even an A-plus may not be enough
Any reasonable up-to-the-moment evaluation of Illinois basketball, winners of nine straight – including Saturday's 88-82 instant classic over Purdue at Mackey Arena – has to go something like: "Hey, those guys are great.
No notes." But outcomes aren't always the best calculation of performance, and even as momentum has all but swept the Illini off their feet midway through the season, there are always tweaks to be made and finer points to address. Every player and coach in college basketball is striving to be a better version of themselves than they had been a day or a game before. So whether a team has banged out nine straight wins or is in the midst of an 0-9 downward spiral, it's useful to evaluate individual performances to gauge where players are at in their own personal journeys. As always, our player grades below are single-game, subjective evaluations of individual on-court production – nothing more, nothing less: Over the course of about two real-time hours in West Lafayette, Wagler went from a feel-good freshman anomaly to the frontunner for Big Ten Freshman of the Year and wedging himself on to the short list for the national award. His 46 points and nine threes made history, and his shooting, hoops IQ and precocious maturity helped Illinois secure its biggest win of the season while thrusting it into the upper tier of the conference King of the Mountain battle.Davis played a season-high 29 minutes. Although his 3-for-8 shooting from the field wasn't much to look at, he did what he often does, giving the Illini seemingly exactly what they need exactly when they need it. His two threes were clutch, as was his only two-pointer – a putback off a teammate's miss. For a floor-spacer, Davis did well to defend his position, grab a pair of offensive rebounds and dish out two assists. A turned ankle landed Mirkovic on the pregame availability list as questionable, but he wound up playing 29 minutes and appeared no worse for the wear. His 12 points and eight rebounds were much needed in support of Wagner, as were his timely pair of three-pointers. He needs to rein in his turnover issues , but that's a nitpick. Against Purdue, Ivisic had one of the loudest seven-point games you'll ever encounter. He was held scoreless until less than four minutes remained on the game clock, but his only two field goals – both threes – knotted the score and essentially put Purdue away, respectively. Ivisic was also excellent on the glass, limiting Oscar Cluff to half his season rebounding average. Ivisic fought his way to as many offensive boards as Cluff collected in total. Humrichous seems to have discovered his role with the Illini: glue guy. He isn't quite the "elite" shooter that coach Brad Underwood has tried to sell him as, but he's a good one . And his rebounding and defense have improved since a year ago. His length, positioning and hustle on closeouts helped keep a 7-for-19 three-point-shooting performance by Purdue from growing into something more damaging. Saturday wasn't Big Z's best moment. His shot was a bit out of sorts , and his two rebounds in 20 minutes isn't getting it done. But his presence as a rim protector continues to be an underestimated subplot of Illinois' season – one that even his two blocks against Purdue can't fully express. Stojakovic has run hot and cold this season – and that's probably to be expected for a high-volume hero-ball scorer who transferred from a non-contender. He's still searching for the right balance with the Illini. His seven rebounds sure helped, but he will have to find a way to make himself more valuable when his long ball isn't dropping.Jason Langendorf has covered Illinois basketball, football and more for Illinois on SI since October 2024, and has covered Illini sports – among other subjects – for 30 years. A veteran of ESPN and Sporting News, he has published work in The Guardian, Vice, Chicago Sun-Times and many other outlets. He is currently also the U.S. editor at BoxingScene and a judge for the annual BWAA writing awards. He can be followed and reached on X and Bluesky @JasonLangendorf.
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