#17 Illinois Opens Season With Dominant Home Win Over Jackson State

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 17 Illinois cruised to a 113-55 season-opening victory over Jackson State on Monday night at State Farm Center.

The 58-point Illini win stemmed from lockdown defense, dominating the glass, and shooting well from deep. They outrebounded the Tigers 61-19 and knocked down 17 threes.

Tomislav Ivisic and Ben Humrichous led Illinois in scoring, pouring in 21 points apiece. Humrichous's 21 tied his highest-scoring game at Illinois, knocking down five threes, shooting 6-11 from the field, and grabbing five rebounds. Ivisic shot 9-12 and grabbed four boards.

David Mirkovic came out flaming hot against Jackson State, putting up eight points and grabbing eight rebounds in just the first five minutes. He recorded a double-double before the half, becoming the first Illini freshman to achieve the feat in a season opener since Kofi Cockburn in 2019. Mirkovic finished the game with 19 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists.

Keaton Wagler had a strong showing in his collegiate debut, finishing with 18 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Wagler shot 4-8 from the field and 8-10 at the free throw line.

In his first game of his senior season, Kylan Boswell put up 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists to start the 2025-26 campaign. He shot 4-9 and hit two 3-pointers in 28 minutes of action. 

Finishing with 13 points and three 3-pointers, Jake Davis brought his sharpshooting back to State Farm Center on Monday night. He shot 5-11, recorded four rebounds, and dished out four assists. 

Jason Jakstys and Blake Fagbemi recorded the first buckets of their collegiate careers. Jakstys, a redshirt freshman, scored his first off a two-handed dunk off an assist from Davis with six minutes left in the first half. He also grabbed nine rebounds in his 12 minutes on the floor. Fagbemi's layup came with seven minutes remaining in the second half.

The Illini made eight of their first 12 shots from the field, opening the night with a 24-3 run to grab a 21-point lead just over six minutes into the contest. The Orange and Blue knocked down five 3-pointers during that stretch, including makes from four different scorers.

With the home side holding a 22-point edge shortly after, the Illini began an 11-0 scoring stretch over the next three minutes to lengthen their lead to 33. Ahead by as many as 34 in the opening frame, the hosts went into halftime with a 60-27 advantage.

Four Illini scorers posted at least eight points across the opening 20 minutes of action, led by 15 points on three 3-pointers from Tomislav Ivisic and 13 points and 10 rebounds from Mirkovic.

A 13-1 run early in the second half pushed the Orange and Blue lead above the 40-point mark for the first time. After the Tigers ended a field goal drought that spanned nearly four-and-a-half minutes, Illinois orchestrated a 7-2 stretch to establish an 80-35 edge with 13:34 remaining.

With the Illini maintaining their 40-point lead over the next five minutes of play, a 9-2 stretch from the home side carried their scoring output above the 100-point mark with just over four minutes to go in the contest.

Illinois ultimately closed the game on an 11-2 run, holding Jackson State without a field goal for the final 4:40 of play, to wrap up the 58-point victory.

The Fighting Illini continue their season-opening four-game homestand on Friday night, when Florida Gulf Coast makes its way to Champaign. The opening tip between the Illini and the Eagles is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT on Peacock.

HIGHLIGHTS

PRESS CONFERENCE

POSTGAME NOTES

Player Notes

• Tomislav Ivisic scored 21 points on an efficient 9-for-12 from the field (3-for-6 from deep) with four rebounds
  • Scored in double figures for the third consecutive game dating back to last season, and for the 22nd time in 33 career games at Illinois
  • Posted his sixth game as an Illini with 20+ points
• David Mirkovic recorded a double-double with 19 points, on 7-for-10 shooting, and a game-high 14 rebounds, while dishing out four assists
  • First Illini freshman to record a double-double in his collegiate debut since Kofi Cockburn (11 points, 10 rebounds) vs. Nicholls State on Nov. 5, 2019
    • Posted a first-half double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds
  • Scored eight of Illinois' first 10 points to open the game
  • Tied for seventh-most rebounds in a game by a freshman in program history (14)
• Ben Humrichous poured in 21 points, hitting 5-for-9 from behind the arc with five rebounds and two assists
  • Tied his career-high at Illinois with 21 points  
  • Recorded his 18th game as an Illini with multiple 3-pointers
    • Has hit at least one triple in 30 of 36 career games for Illinois
  • Tied career-high for 3-pointers in a game with five (sixth time)
• Jake Davis tallied 13 points, grabbing four boards and four assists
  • Scored in double figures for the third time in his career as an Illini
  • Recorded his seventh games as an Illini with multiple 3-pointers
• Keaton Wagler dropped 18 points, with a team-leading 8-for-10 from the free-throw line, and five rebounds with four assists
• Kylan Boswell added 10 points with five rebounds and a team-high five assists
  • Scored in double figures for his ninth consecutive game dating back to last season, and for the 25th time in 36 career games at Illinois
• Zvonimir Ivisic scored four points while adding nine rebounds and two assists
  • Scored his first basket as an Illini on an offensive rebound off a missed 3-pointer by his twin brother, Tomislav
• Jason Jakstys pulled down nine rebounds in his Illini debut, while adding two points, one assist and one steal
• Blake Fagbemi played nearly 14 minutes in his Illini debut and posted two points, three rebounds, and an assist
• AJ Redd finished with a career-high three points

Team Notes

• Starting lineup: Kylan Boswell, Keaton Wagler, Jake Davis, David Mirkovic, Tomislav Ivisic
• Five players made their Illini debuts, including two starters - freshman G Keaton Wagler and freshman F David Mirkovic.
  • Wagler and Mirkovic are the first freshman pair to start for the Illini in the season opener since Ayo Dosunmu and Giorgi Bezhanishvili vs Evansville on 11/8/18
  • Other players to make their Illini debut: junior F/C Zvonimir Ivisic, freshman G Blake Fagbemi, redshirt freshman C Jason Jakstys 
• Brad Underwood improves to 9-0 in season openers as head coach at Illinois
  • Illinois is 107-14 (.884) all-time in season openers
    • The Illini have won 10 straight openers, dating back to 2016
  • Illinois is 42-2 (.955) all-time when starting the season at State Farm Center
    • The Illini have won 29 straight games when opening the season at State Farm Center, a streak that dates back to 1993
• The 58-point margin of victory is the largest by the Illini since another 58-point victory on Nov. 25, 2024, vs. Little Rock.
  • Margin of victory was propelled by an opening 22-3 run by the Illini in the first six minutes.
• Illinois hit 17 3-pointers, one shy of the program record
  • Six different Illini hit multiple 3-pointers in a game for the first time since Nov. 25, 2018, an 86-67 victory over Mississippi Valley State 
• The Illini outrebounded the Tigers, 61-19, including a 31-8 advantage in the first half
  • 61 rebounds is the most in the Underwood era, breaking the previous high of 58 against North Carolina A&T on Nov. 25, 2020
  • The +42 rebounding margin also ties for the second-highest in the Underwood era and the best margin since having a +44 edge against Chicago State on Nov. 26, 2020
  • Scored 26 second-chance points off 21 offensive rebounds
• Illinois assisted on 23 of its 40 baskets
• Six Illini reached double-figures scoring
• The Illinois bench out-scored its Jackson State counterparts, 33-17