#20 Illini Host Southern in Monday Matinee at State Farm Center

Head Coach Brad Underwood

Career Record: 283-131 (.684), 13th year

At Illinois: 174-104 (.626), 9th year

Big Ten: 93-67 (.581)

Series History vs. Southern

All-Time Record / Streak: Illinois leads 2-0

Record in Champaign: Same

Last Meeting: #23 Illinois 88, Southern 60 (11/19/2023)

Underwood vs. Southern: 2-0

OPENING TIPS

• Following a week-long holiday break, No. 20 Illinois returns to action for a Monday matinee vs. Southern at State Farm Center (2 p.m. CT / BTN). The matchup between the Illini and the Jaguars closes out Illinois’ nonconference slate and the 2025 calendar year. 
• The Illini are coming off a dominant 91-48 victory over rival Mizzou to push their Braggin’ Rights winning streak to three years in a row. The 43-point win marked the largest margin in the history of the Illinois-Missouri series. 
• Monday’s matchup with Southern is Illinois’ only game in a 12-day span during the holiday break. Big Ten play is set to resume on Saturday, Jan. 3, when the Illini face Penn State at The Palestra in Philadelphia.
• The Fighting Illini offense features five players averaging double figures in scoring – Keaton Wagler (15.7), Andrej Stojakovic (15.5), Kylan Boswell (15.3 ppg), David Mirkovic (13.3), and Tomislav Ivisic (10.4) – tied for the third-most in the nation behind Baylor and Michigan (six each). 
• Illinois is ranked No. 20 in the latest AP poll and 19 in the coaches poll, and has reached as high as No. 8 (Nov. 17). The Illini have been ranked in the AP Top 25 in each of the last seven seasons under Brad Underwood. 
• Illinois is No. 10 in the NCAA NET rankings through games played Dec. 26, the third-best rating in the Big Ten behind Michigan (1) and Purdue (7). Illinois is 4-3 on the season in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games. Monday’s game vs. Southern is one of just two Quad 4 games remaining on the Illini’s schedule.  
• Illinois’ total of three Quad 1 wins is tied for sixth-most in the NCAA and one behind national leaders Arizona, Duke, Gonzaga, Michigan State, and UConn, who have four each (through games played Dec. 26). 
• After leading the Big Ten in scoring last season (83.6 ppg), Illinois is currently averaging 88.1 points. At this pace, the Illini would become the third team in program history to average 87+ points per game behind the 1964-65 (92.2 ppg) and 1955-56 (90.7) teams. The Illini opened this season with seven straight games of 80+ points. It marked the most such games to open a campaign since the 1988-89 Flyin’ Illini scored 80+ in each of their first 12 contests. 
• Illinois is No. 9 in the kenpom rankings with a net rating of +29.43. The Illini feature the No. 2-rated offense (127.5) and No. 27 defensive rating (98.1) in the country. The Illini have had an overall kenpom rating of 35th or better each of the last six years under Brad Underwood with a high of No. 4 (2020-21). Illinois posted consecutive top-20 rankings in 2023-24 (10th) and 2024-25 (17th).
• Brad Underwood has led Illinois to 29 wins over top-25 opponents since 2019-20, with 20 of those wins coming in ranked-vs.-ranked matchups. Illinois’ 29 top-25 victories are tied for 10th-most in the NCAA during that span. This season the Illini have ranked wins over No. 11 Texas Tech at home, and vs. No. 13 Tennessee in Nashville.  
• Illinois is 2-3 this season vs. top 25 teams, with a home win over No. 11 Texas Tech (81-77) on Nov. 11, and a neutral-site victory over No. 13 Tennessee (75-62) on Dec. 6 in Nashville, and losses to No. 11 Alabama (90-86) on Nov. 18 at Chicago’s United Center and No. 5 UConn (74-61) at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 28, and Dec. 13 at home vs. No. 23 Nebraska (83-80). With seven ranked Big Ten teams in the most recent AP poll, the Illini’s current schedule could feature as many as 11 ranked games during the regular season. 
• Illinois entered 2025-26 as the winningest team in Big Ten Conference play since 2019-20, with 81 league wins (tied with Purdue). The Illini now sit one game behind the Boilermakers in the win column through two conference games in the league’s early-December scheduling window. The Illini lead the conference with 35 road wins in league play during that span. When including the conference tournament, Illinois is also one game behind Purdue for the most total wins against Big Ten opponents over this span with 89.
• As a team, Illinois ranks among the top three in the Big Ten, and among the top programs nationally in five categories: The team leads the Big Ten with 13.8 fouls per game (eighth in the NCAA) and are second in the league with a free-throw percentage of .784 (15th in the NCAA). The Illini are third in the B1G with 5.4 blocks per game (18th in NCAA), 28.5 defensive rebounds per game (31st), and a scoring average of 88.1 points per game (34th).
• Illinois’ roster leads the NCAA with seven players averaging better than 4.0 rebounds per game over a minimum of four games played: David Mirkovic (8.5 rpg), Zvonimir Ivisic (5.6), Keaton Wagler (5.1), Tomislav Ivisic (4.8), Ben Humrichous (4.3), Kylan Boswell (4.2), and Andrej Stojakovic (4.0). 
• Freshman G Keaton Wagler earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors on Dec. 15 after averaging 21 points and 7.5 assists vs. Ohio State and Nebraska, while shooting 50% from the field, 54% from 3-point range and 92% from the free throw line. Wagler scored a career- and team-high 23 points with five assists in road win at Ohio State. He recorded a points-assists double-double with 19 points and career- and game-high 10 assists vs. No. 23 Nebraska. Combined, he knocked down seven 3-pointers on the week, hitting three against the Buckeyes and a career-high four against the Corn Huskers. It marks the third time through the first six weeks of the season that an Illini has been named Big Ten Freshman of the Week, joining two accolades for forward David Mirkovic.
• Freshman G Keaton Wagler leads the Illini and ranks among the Big Ten leaders with: 54 free-throws made (10th in B1G), 65 free-throw attempts (11th), 188 total points (14th), 2.17 3-pointers per game (14th), 26 total 3-pointers (14th), an .831 free-throw percentage (15th), 15.7 points per game (17th), and is tied for the team lead with 2.42 offensive rebounds per game (12th in B1G). Wagler also ranks first in the Big Ten among freshman playing 31:32 per game. 
• Freshman F David Mirkovic is one of only four freshmen in the nation, along with Duke’s Cameron Boozer, North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson, and Washington’s Hannes Steinbach, averaging at least 13.0 points and 8.5 rebounds (through Dec. 26). Mirkovic leads the Illini, ranks inside the top 10 in the Big Ten, and is among the national leaders with: five double-doubles (fourth in B1G, 47th in NCAA); 6.1 defensive rebounds per game (fifth, 42nd); 8.5 total rebounds per game (sixth, 53rd); and 102 total rebounds (fifth, 58th). Mirkovic also ranks tied for 12th in the Big Ten with 2.4 offensive rebounds per game.
• Senior G Kylan Boswell is the Illini’s active career leader with 1,121 career points (613 at Illinois), with eight 20+-point games and 33 career double-digit scoring games in Orange and Blue. Boswell leads the team in total assists (41), assists per game (3.4), and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.56) while logging a team-leading 31:34 per contest. 
• Junior G Andrej Stojakovic transferred to Illinois with a reputation as a prolific scorer, and he has started off strong, averaging 15.5 points on 54.2% shooting. Stojakovic has four 20-point performances, highlighted by a season-high 26 points vs. No. 11 Alabama. Stojakovic also posted 23 points the win over No. 11 Texas Tech, and scored 20 and 24, respectively, in Illinois’ wins over LIU and UTRGV. In his Big Ten debut, Stojakovic had 17 points and four rebounds in the win at Ohio State, then posted an 19-point, 10-rebound double-double in the Illini’s B1G home-opener vs. No. 23 Nebraska. Stojakovic has led the Illini in scoring in a team-most four games this season.   
• Twin 7-footers Tomislav Ivisic and Zvonimir Ivisic rank among the top shooting big men in college basketball. Zvonimir is tied for first in the NCAA among 7-footers with five games this season with multiple 3-pointers, while Tomislav ranks tied for third at four contests with multiple treys. Tomislav leads the nation’s 7-footer with 1.6 3-pointers per game, while Zvonimir ranks fifth at 1.1 triples per contest.

ILLINI IN THE NET

• Illinois is No. 10 in the NCAA NET ranking though games played Dec. 25. 
• The Fighting Illini’s No. 10 rating is the third-best mark in the Big Ten Conference behind Michigan (1) and Purdue (7). 
• Through 12 games, the Illini are: 3-3 vs. Quad 1, 1-0 vs. Quad 2, 1-0 vs. Quad 3, and 4-0 vs. Quad 4.
• The Illini’s remaining 19-game regular-season schedule would feature 12 games vs. Quad 1 or Quad 2 opponents, with five Quad 3 and two Quad 4 matchups remaining.  

  • Quad 1s (8): at Iowa (12), at Northwestern (73), at Purdue (7), at Nebraska (11), at Michigan State (13), at USC (39), at UCLA (35), and vs. Michigan (1).  
  • Quad 2s (4): vs. Washington (54), vs. Northwestern (73), vs. Wisconsin (67), and vs. Indiana (32)
  • Quad 3s (5): vs. Penn State (145) in Philadelphia, vs. Minnesota (107), vs. Maryland (158), vs. Oregon (104), and at Maryland (158).
  • Quad 4s (2): vs. Southern (286), and vs. Rutgers (196)

ILLINOIS VS. SOUTHERN

• Illinois is 2-0 in the all-time series with Southern, with both wins coming at State Farm Center. 
• The Fighting Illini officially opened the Brad Underwood era with a 102-55 victory over Southern on Nov. 10, 2017. Underwood, now in his ninth season at the helm of the Illinois program, ranks fourth in program history with 174 wins.  
• During the 2023-24 nonconference slate, the 23rd-ranked Illini captured an 88-60 victory over the Jaguars. It marked the fourth win of the team’s 29-win campaign that ended with a run to the NCAA Elite Eight. 
• Illinois is 18-0 all-time against the current 12-team membership of the SWAC. Underwood is 9-0 vs. SWAC programs in his career, including a 6-0 mark while at Illinois. The team opened this season on Nov. 3 with a dominant 113-55 victory over Southern’s fellow SWAC program, Jackson State.