#14 Illini Host #11 Texas Tech Tuesday Evening at State Farm Center

Head Coach Brad Underwood

Career Record: 276-128 (.683), thirteenth yr

At Illinois: 167-101 (.623), ninth yr

Big Ten: 92-66 (.580)

Series History vs. Texas Tech

All-Time Record: First assembly

Record in Champaign: First Meeting

Underwood vs. Texas Tech at Illinois / All-Time: 0-0 / 2-0

OPENING TIPS

• No. 14 Illinois hosts the third contest of a four-game, season-opening homestand on Tuesday evening, welcoming No. 11 Texas Tech to State Farm Center (7:30 p.m. CT / FS1). Illinois carries a four-game residence successful streak.
• The Fighting Illini are off to a 2-0 begin to their 121st season of males’s basketball with blowout wins over Jackson State (113-55) and Florida Gulf Coast (113-70). Illinois is trying to begin 3-0 for the fifth time underneath Brad Underwood, and the third time within the final 4 seasons.
• In going through No. 11 Texas Tech, Illinois is looking for its highest ranked win since a 109-77 victory at No. 9 Oregon final season (Jan. 2, 2025). Illinois is aiming for its highest ranked residence win, in the meantime, since beating No. 11 Wisconsin, 80-67, at State Farm Center on Feb. 2, 2022.  
• Illinois moved up three spots this week to No. 14 within the AP Top 25 and stay at 14 within the Coaches ballot. The Illini have been ranked within the AP Top 25 in every of the final seven seasons underneath Brad Underwood. 
• Illinois has moved as much as No. 3 within the kenpom rankings. The Illini entered the season at No. 6 and have completed thirty fifth or higher every of the final six years underneath Brad Underwood with a excessive of No. 4 (2020-21). Illinois has posted back-to-back top-20 rankings, ending tenth in 2023-24 and seventeenth in 2024-25.
• Forward David Mirkovic was named Monday because the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after back-to-back double-doubles to open his school profession towards Jackson State (19 factors, 14 rebounds) and Florida Gulf Coast (18 factors, 11 rebounds) whereas changing into the primary Illini freshman to file a double-double in his school debut since Kofi Cockburn in 2019. Mirkovic averaged 18.0 factors, 12.5 rebounds and a pair of.5 assists on the week.
• Senior Kylan Boswell enters Tuesday’s sport 21 factors shy of reaching 1,000 for his profession (979). 
• Expectations are excessive as soon as once more in Champaign, with the Illini returning three starters from final yr’s group that gained 22 video games, superior to the NCAA Round of 32, and completed the yr ranked seventeenth in kenpom.
• Illinois is the winningest group in Big Ten play since 2019-20, with 81 league wins over the earlier six seasons, tied with Purdue. During that stretch, the Illini lead the convention with 34 highway wins in league play. When together with the convention event, Illinois can be tied with Purdue for probably the most complete wins towards B1G opponents over this span with 88. 

Illinois vs. Texas Tech

• Tuesday’s contest is the first-ever matchup between the Fighting Illini and the Red Raiders.
• Brad Underwood is 2-0 all-time vs. Texas Tech, having led Oklahoma State to a regular-season sweep of TTU in 2016-17, his lone season in Stillwater.
•  Illinois is 57-33 (.633) all-time towards the present 16-team membership of the Big 12 Conference, together with a 21-4 (.840) mark when internet hosting Big 12 packages at State Farm Center.  

Taking on the Top

• Illinois has 27 victories over ranked opponents for the reason that begin of the 2019-20 season, one other spotlight of the job Brad Underwood has performed rebuilding the Fighting Illini program.
• The Illini’s 27 ranked wins since 2019-20 are tied for ninth nationally during the last six-plus seasons.
• The Illini have recorded 13 wins towards prime 10-ranked opponents throughout that very same span, tied for the third-most within the nation during the last seven seasons
• Five of the Illini’s ranked wins have been over top-5 opponents, tied for sixth-most within the nation during the last seven seasons. 

MIRKOVIC DOUBLE-DOUBLES

• Fighting Illini freshman F David Mirkovic – the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week – has impressed via two video games to start his school profession, posting back-to-back double-doubles with 19 factors and 14 rebounds vs. Jackson State, and 17 factors and 11 boards vs. Florida Gulf Coast. 
• Mirkovic turned the primary Illinois true freshman since Kofi Cockburn in 2019 to submit a double-double within the Illini’s season-opener. 
• Entering Tuesday’s sport vs. #10 Texas Tech, Mirkovic‘s pair of double-doubles are tied for the nationwide lead. He joins Mouhamed Sylla of Georgia Tech as the one freshman on the checklist. 
• Mirkovic additionally ranks second nationally in defensive rebounds per sport (10.5) and tenth in complete rebounds per sport (12.5). 

Wagler’s robust begin

• Fighting Illini freshman G Keaton Wagler is one in every of two true freshmen to start out every of the Illini’s first two video games – becoming a member of David Mirkovic – and has excelled in almost all phases of the sport to start his school profession. 
• Wagler enter Tuesday’s sport vs. #11 Texas Tech because the Illini’s No. 2 scorer at 20.5 factors per sport – only one complete level behind Kylan Boswell for the group lead. Wagler scored 18 in his debut vs. Jackson State earlier than notching the primary 20-point sport of his profession vs. FGCU (22 factors).  
• In addition to taking pictures a team-best 65% (11-17) from the sphere and 60% (3-5) from 3-point vary via two video games, Wagler has been significantly adept at attending to the free-throw line and leads the Illini in free-throws made (15) and tried (17), and ranks second in free-throw proportion (.882). 
• Wagler additionally ranks first on the group averaging 4.0 offensive rebounds per sport, and is second on the group behind Kylan Boswell assists per sport (3.5) and assist-to-turnover (2.33). 

Highlighting Illinois’ energy of schedule

• Illinois head coach Brad Underwood believes in placing collectively a rigorous schedule to organize for Big Ten play, and that has resulted within the Fighting Illini yearly competing towards a few of the nation’s strongest schedules during the last eight seasons. 
• Since main the Fighting Illini towards kenpom’s No. 58 schedule in his first season in 2018, Underwood and the Illini have confronted top-25 slates in six of the final seven season:
  
  » No. 58 in 2017-18
  
  » No. 13 in 2018-19
  
  » No. 25 in 2019-20
  
  » No. 5 in 2020-21
  
  » No. 17 in 2021-22
  
  » No. 36 in 2022-23
  
  » No. 17 in 2023-24
  
  » No. 4 in 2024-25
• The 2025-26 season can be one other robust check for the Illini. The Big Ten schedule will embrace eight league video games towards groups that participated within the 2025 NCAA Tournament and 5 contests towards groups within the preseason AP Top 25.
• The Illini may also compete in a number of early-season matchups towards energy convention opponents throughout the group’s non-conference slate. 
  
  » Nov. 11 vs. #11 Texas Tech
  
  » Nov. 19 vs. #8 Alabama (Chicago, Ill.)
  
  » Nov. 28 vs. #3 UConn (New York, N.Y.)
  
  » Dec. 6 vs. #20 Tennessee (Nashville, Tenn.)
  
  » Dec. 22 vs. Missouri (St. Louis, Mo.)
• All 5 marquee non-conference opponents are coming off of NCAA Tournament runs, with Alabama (East / 2 Seed), Tennessee (Midwest / 2 Seed), and Texas Tech (West / 3 Seed) all making Elite 8 runs. UConn (West / 8 Seed) and Missouri (West / 6 Seed) closed their seasons within the Round of 32 and Round of 64, respectively.