#16 Illini Battle Rutgers Thursday at State Farm Center

#16 ILLINOIS (11-3, 2-1 B1G) vs. Rutgers (8-7, 1-3 B1G)
Date | Time	Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026 | 7:30 p.m. CT
Location	Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center
Buy Tickets	FightingIllini.com
TV	Big Ten Network (Kevin Kugler & Shon Morris)
Live Stream	FoxSports.com/live/btn
Radio	Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | Varsity Network App | SiriusXM 117 or 195, SXM APP
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Printable Notes	Illinois | Rutgers
Pregame Press Conference	Coach Underwood (Jan. 7)
2025-26 Stats	Illinois | Rutgers
Record Book	Illinois
Shop	Online Store | Auctions
Social Media	@IlliniMBB | #Illini | @IlliniMBB | Facebook | YouTube

Head Coach Brad Underwood

Career Record: 285-131 (.685), 13th year
At Illinois: 176-104 (.629), 9th year
Big Ten: 94-67 (.584)

Series History vs. Rutgers

All-Time Record / Streak: Illinois leads 13-5 / Rutgers W-1
Last Meeting: Rutgers 82, #23 Illinois 73 (2/5/2025 in Piscataway)
Record at Champaign / Streak: Illinois leads 8-0 / Illinois W-8
Last Meeting in Champaign: #14 Illinois 86, Rutgers 63 (1/21/2024)
Underwood vs. Rutgers: 9-4

OPENING TIPS

• No. 16 Illinois carries a three-game win streak into a Thursday night Big Ten matchup vs. Rutgers at State Farm Center. Tipoff between the Fighting Illini and the Scarlet Knights is set for 7:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network. 
• Rutgers is Illinois' lone home game in an 18-day period spanning the new year. The Illini captured a 90-55 home win vs. Southern on Dec. 29, then defeated Penn State, 73-65, at The Palestra in Philadelphia in their last outing on Saturday. Following this week's home tilt vs. the Scarlet Knights, the Illini will play back-to-back Big Ten road games -  at #19 Iowa on Sunday and at Northwestern on Jan. 14 - before returning to State Farm Center Jan. 17 vs. Minnesota. 
• The game vs. Rutgers is the first of seven home-only matchups on the Illini's Big Ten schedule this season. 
• The Fighting Illini rank tied for the national lead with four players averaging better than 13.0 points per game: Keaton Wagler (15.4), Kylan Boswell (14.9 ppg), Andrej Stojakovic (14.5) and David Mirkovic (13.1). 
• Illinois is No. 16 in the latest AP and coaches polls. The Illini have reached as high as No. 8 (Nov. 17) this season. Illinois has been ranked in the AP Top 25 in each of the last seven seasons under Brad Underwood.
• After leading the Big Ten in scoring last season (83.6 ppg), Illinois is currently averaging 87.1 points. At this pace, the Illini would become the third team in program history to average 87+ points 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. 10 in the NCAA NET rankings through games played Jan. 5, the third-best rating in the Big Ten behind Michigan (1) and Purdue (6). Illinois is 5-3 on the season combined in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games, and 6-0 combined in Quad 3 and Quad 4 matchups. Thursday's game vs. Rutgers is the team's final Quad 4 matchup of the season based on the NET rankings through games played Jan. 5. 
• Illinois' total of three Quad 1 wins is tied for 10th-most in the NCAA and one behind national leaders Arizona, Duke, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, UConn, and Vanderbilt, who have four each (through games played Jan. 5). 
• Illinois is No. 8 in the kenpom rankings with a net rating of +29.33. The Illini feature the No. 3-rated offense (126.8) and No. 21 defensive rating (97.5) 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, 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 10 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 (83 wins) now sit one game behind the Boilermakers (84) in the win column through three conference games this season. The Illini lead the conference with 36 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 90.
• As a team, Illinois ranks in the top three in the Big Ten, and among the top programs nationally in 10 categories: The team leads the Big Ten with 13.9 fouls per game (seventh in the NCAA) and a free-throw percentage of 79.3 (third), and are second in the league with 29.0 defensive rebounds per game (17th) and  a scoring average of 87.1 points per game (36th). The Illini are third in the B1G in with a +11.4 rebound margin (ninth in NCAA), 5.6 blocks per game (16th), 42.4 total rebounds per game (15th), 29.4 3-point attempts per game (27th), 10.2 3-pointers made per game (42nd), and 13.4 offensive rebounds per game (49th). 
• Illinois is tied for the NCAA lead with seven players averaging better than 4.0 rebounds per game over a minimum of five games played: David Mirkovic (8.4 rpg), Zvonimir Ivisic (5.6), Keaton Wagler (5.1), Tomislav Ivisic (4.7), Ben Humrichous (4.4), Kylan Boswell (4.2), and Andrej Stojakovic (4.1).  
• Freshman G Keaton Wagler was named Monday as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, his second nod of the season.  Wagler averaged 16.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.3 steals over the previous two weeks, leading the Illini to three straight wins, while shooting 53.6% from the field, 46.7% from 3-point range and 80% from the free throw line. Wagler scored a game-high 22 points on a career-best 5-6 shooting from 3-point range, with eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals vs. Missouri. He then posted his second career double-double vs. Southern with 11 points and career-high tying 10 assists, to go along with seven rebounds and two steals. He tallied 16 points, three rebounds and three assists and was a game-high +17 vs. Penn State at The Palestra, despite playing only 20 minutes due to foul trouble. 
• This marks the fourth time in eight selections this season that an Illini has been named Big Ten Freshman of the Week. Wagler now has two accolades, joining two awards for teammate David Mirkovic.
• Freshman G Keaton Wagler, a two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week honoree, leads the Illini and ranks among the Big Ten leaders with: 2.79 assist-to-turnover ratio (10th), 76 free-throw attempts (10th), 63 free-throws made (10th), 3.8 assists per game (15th), an .829 free-throw percentage (15th), 216 total points (16th), 53 total assists (16th), 15.4 points per game (17th), 2.0 3-pointers per game (17th).
• 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 8.0 rebounds (through Jan. 5). A two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, Mirkovic leads the Illini, ranks inside the top 10 in the Big Ten, and is among the NCAA leaders with: four double-doubles (fifth in B1G, 41st in NCAA); 118 total rebounds (fifth, 63rd); 5.9 defensive rebounds per game (sixth, 52nd); 8.4 total rebounds per game (sixth, 56th); and 2.5 offensive rebounds per game (ninth, 137th); and is second behind Keaton Wagler with an 82.0% free-throw percentage (18th in the Big Ten).  
• Senior G Kylan Boswell is the Illini's active career leader with 1,147 career points (639 at Illinois), with eight 20+ point games and 34 career double-digit scoring games in Orange and Blue. Boswell leads the team with five games this season with 20+ points this season, and has eclipsed the 20-point mark eight times over the last two years.
• Junior G Andrej Stojakovic transferred to Illinois with a reputation as a prolific scorer and is averaging 14.5 points on 52.4% 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 four games this season, tied with Kylan Boswell for the most on the team.   
• 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 six games this season with multiple 3-pointers, while Tomislav ranks tied for fourth at four contests with multiple treys. Tomislav is tied for the NCAA lead among 7-footers with 1.4 3-pointers per game, while Zvonimir ranks tied for fourth at 1.2 triples per contest. 

ILLINOIS VS. RUTGERS

• Thursday's contest is 19th in the all-time series between Illinois and Rutgers. 
• The Illini are 13-5 all-time vs. Rutgers, including an 8-0 mark in home games vs. the Scarlet Knights. 
• The first meeting, a 77-57 Illinois win at the South Padre Island Invitational (I1/26/2005), is the only matchup that occurred before Rutgers joined the Big Ten in 2014-15. 
• Head coach Brad Underwood has led the Illini to a 9-4 record vs. Rutgers and is 6-0 at State Farm Center against the Scarlet Knights. 
• Rutgers won the most recent meeting, an 82-73, victory over the #23 Illini, on Feb. 5, 2025, at Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway, N.J.

ILLINI IN THE NET

• Illinois is No. 10 in the NCAA NET ranking though games played Jan. 5. 
• The Fighting Illini's No. 10 rating is the third-best mark in the Big Ten Conference behind Michigan (1) and Purdue (6). 
• Through 14 games, the Illini are: 3-3 vs. Quad 1, 2-0 vs. Quad 2, 0-0 vs. Quad 3, and 6-0 vs. Quad 4.
• The Illini's remaining 17-game regular-season schedule would feature 11 games vs. Quad 1 or Quad 2 opponents, with five Quad 3 and just one Quad 4 matchups remaining.  
  » Quad 1s (8): at Iowa (14), at Purdue (6), at Nebraska (11), at Michigan State (12), vs. Indiana (30), at USC (44), at UCLA (40), and vs. Michigan (1).  
  » Quad 2s (3): vs. Northwestern (82), vs. Washington (61), and vs. Wisconsin (63).
  » Quad 3s (5): vs. Minnesota (93), vs. Maryland (160), vs. Northwestern (82), vs. Oregon (102), and at Maryland (160). 
  » Quad 4s (1): vs. Rutgers (181).

ILLINOIS WHEN RANKED

• Thursday vs. Rutgers marks the 15th game of the season ranked in the Top 25 for the No. 16 Fighting Illini. 
• Illinois is 663-270 (.711) all-time when ranked in the AP Top 25. The program is 362-54 (.870) at home, including a 284-41 (.874) mark at State Farm Center, 162-150 (.519) on the road, and 139-64 (.685) at neutral sites. 
• Under head coach Brad Underwood, Illinois is 101-46 (.687) when ranked.

Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)