The Illini weren't perfect Tuesday in Champaign – they were just better than the Red Raiders, which was statement enough
Illinois wasn't perfect in Tuesday's game against Texas Tech – far from it, in fact. After a hot start, the Illini wound up shooting just 31.8 percent from three and 69.6 percent from the free-throw line .
They won the rebounding battle – but only just, topping the Red Raiders 34-30. After moving the ball gorgeously in their first two games, the Illini choked off the offensive flow and ended the night just five assists. And yet, No. 14 Illinois passed its first significant test of the 2025-26 season, holding off No. 11 Texas Tech 81-77 at the State Farm Center in Champaign. The Illini slogged and scrummed and ultimately slipped by with a handful of very big plays from some very big players in a game it very well would have lost down the stretch last season. This group, as the kids say, appears to be built different.How, exactly? Let's start with these three instant observations from Illinois' first dub of the season over a ranked opponent:Illini fans have been hearing about the twin pillars of Underwood's grand design – positional size and shooting – for well over a year now, and if Illinois' first three games have proven nothing else, it's that his vision is now a reality.When you have a player who can go get a tough rebound, kick it out, drift to the arc, force a defender to come screaming by with a shot upfake, then reset and bang home a three, you're on to something. When you have five of them on the floor at any given time, you're going to be damn tough to beat.It was a problem right away – Kylan Boswell was lazy getting back to a shooter working off a couple screens early on – and continued far too frequently throughout the game: Illinois' screen-and-roll D, in a word, stunk. Whatever the plan was, the Illini's execution left the Red Raiders with too many favorable matchups, clean angles to the rim and open shooters. Some of this is to be expected. An overturned roster and ongoing injuries aren't exactly conducive to coming out of the chute with seamless chemistry, and defending screen actions – maybe more than anything else in the game – requires players and teams all be dialed into the same wavelength. Underwood and his staff need to get the issue sorted sooner rather than later. MORE. Is Illinois a Top-Five Team? Here's What the Metrics Say. Is Illinois a Top-Five Team? Here's What the Metrics Say. darkDavid Mirkovic has had his moments. Big Z has hit some shots this season worthy of his nickname. Boswell, who converted on a critical hesitation move and hit two clutch free throws in the final seconds against Texas Tech, is the ultimate gamer. Tomislav Ivisic, who was inactive Tuesday, is arguably the team''s best offensive player. But Tuesday belonged to Andrej Stojakovic, who finished with a team-high 23 points , carried the offense down the stretch and closed the show with an epic block that snuffed the Red Raiders' final chance. The cliche is that a team has to have a player it can go to in important moments or in the closing seconds that it can count on. But if you have more than one – or a half dozen of them – that creates an injury- and matchup-proof resilience that otherwise can't be replicated.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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