No. 3 Illini Welcome Penn to State Farm Center Thursday

Thursday, November 5

Champaign, Ill.

7:30 pm CT

University of Illinois

Penn

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November 4, 2026 | Men's Basketball

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#3/3 ILLINOIS (1-0) vs. Penn (0-0)
Date \| Time	Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026 \| 7:30 p.m. CT
Location	Champaign, Ill. \| State Farm Center
Buy Tickets	FightingIllini.com
TV	FS1 (Jack Kizer & Steve Smith)
Live Stream	FOX One
Radio	Busey Bank Illini Sports Network \| Varsity Network App \| Sirius XM 176 or 231 \| SXM App
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Printable Notes	Illinois \| Penn
Pregame Press Conference	Coach Underwood (Nov. 4)
2026-27 Stats	Illinois \| Penn (2025-26)
Record Book	Illinois \| NCAA
Shop	Online Store \| Auctions
Social Media	@IlliniMBB \| #Illini \| @IlliniMBB \| Facebook \| YouTube

PROBABLE STARTERS (Based on previous game)
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Elig.	PPG	RPG	APG	Note
G	2	Andrej Stojakovic	6-7	205	Sr.	20.0	7.0	4.0	Ninth 20-point game as an Illini vs. FDU
G	11	Quentin Coleman	6-4	180	Fr.	13.0	10.0	6.0	Double-double (13 pts, 10 rebs.) in college debut
C	13	Tomislav Ivisic	7-1	270	5th	10.0	4.0	1.0	107 3FG last 3 yrs, 1st in NCAA by 7-footer
F	15	Jake Davis	6-6	210	Sr.	2.0	3.0	1.0	Out with shoulder injury; Replacement TBD
G	34	Ethan Brown	6-4	185	Fr.	12.0	9.0	7.0	Game-high 7 assists in college debut
OFF THE BENCH
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Elig.	PPG	RPG	APG	Note
F	0	David Mirkovic	6-9	250	So.	-	-	-	Preseason All-American
G	1	Lincoln Williams	6-5	180	Fr.	-	-	-	Career scoring leader at Kankakee High
G	5	Quentin McCoy	6-1	170	Jr.	2.0	0.0	0.0	Played last two seasons at Arizona State
G	7	Stefan Vaaks	6-7	215	So.	20.0	3.0	4.0	Tied for team lead with 20 points in Illini debut
G	8	Blake Fagbemi	6-0	180	So.	8.0	3.0	1.0	Career-high 8 pts (2 3FGs) & 3 rebs vs. FDU
F	22	Zavier Zens	6-7	215	Fr.	12.0	3.0	2.0	12 points in team-high 25 minutes in debut vs. FDU
G	23	Lucas Morillo	6-7	210	Fr.	9.0	8.0	1.0	9 points, 8 rebounds in 19 minutes in debut vs. FDU
F	27	Landon Davis	6-9	220	Fr.	6.0	4.0	1.0	Two 3-pointers in college debut vs. FDU
C	31	Jason Jakstys	6-10	220	Jr.	2.0	2.0	2.0	Career-high two assists vs. FDU
F/C	44	Zvonimir Ivisic	7-2	250	5th	4.0	5.0	0.0	73 blocked shots in last two seasons

Head Coach Brad Underwood

Career Record: 303-137 (.689), 14th year
At Illinois: 194-110 (.638), 10th year
Big Ten: 107-71 (.601)

Series History vs. Penn

All-Time Record: Illinois leads, 7-0
Last Meeting: #13 Illinois 105, Penn 70 (March 19, 2026 at Greenville, S.C. / NCAA Tournament Round 1)
Record in Champaign: Illinois leads, 2-0
Last Meeting in Champaign: Illinois 75, Penn 65 (Dec. 22, 1950 / Huff Hall)
Underwood vs. Penn: 1-0

Opening Tips

Illinois hosts Penn on Thursday at State Farm Center in the second game of a season-opening two-game homestand (7:30 p.m. CT / FS1).
The Fighting Illini opened up their 122nd season on Monday with a dominant 120-45 victory over FDU, setting program records for largest margin of victory (75) and 3-pointers made (19).
Illinois is looking to start 2-0 or better for the eighth straight season under head coach Brad Underwood.
The Illini began their Final Four run last season with a 105-70 victory over Penn in Greenville, S.C.
The Fighting Illini are coming off the program's first Final Four appearance in 21 years, a 28-9 record to mark the fourth-most wins in school history, and a Big Ten runner-up finish (15-5).
Expectations entering the 2026-27 season are high, once again, as head coach Brad Underwood welcomes back five rotation players from the Final Four run in David Mirkovic, Andrej Stojakovic, Tomislav Ivisic, Zvonimir Ivisic, and Jake Davis while adding an impact transfer in Stefan Vaaks from Providence and a top-15 recruiting class consisting of six freshmen highlighted by High School All-American Quentin Coleman.
Illinois is preseason No. 3 in both the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll, and No. 4 by kenpom.
No. 3 is the second-highest preseason rank ever for Illinois, matching the No. 3 spot 25 years ago entering 2001-02. Brad Underwood has now led the Illini to preseason AP Top 25 rankings in six of the last seven seasons:
- No. 8 entering 2020-21
- No. 11 entering 2021-22
- No. 23 entering 2022-23
- No. 25 entering 2023-24
- No. 17 entering 2025-26
- No. 3 entering 2026-27
The Illini have finished 35th or better in kenpom rating in each of the last seven seasons, with a high of No. 4 in 2020-21. Illinois has had three consecutive top-20 final kenpom rankings:
- No. 10 in 2023-24
- No. 17 in 2024-25
- No. 5 in 2025-26
Illinois is the winningest team in Big Ten play this decade and is one of four programs nationally with seven straight 20-win regular seasons. Since the start of the 2019-20 season the Illini have posted 96 B1G victories. During that stretch, the Illini also own the most road wins in league play with 42.

Illinois vs. Penn

Thursday's matchup between Illinois and Penn is only the eighth all-time but the second in just 232 days. The Fighting Illini defeated the Quakers, 105-70, in Round 1 of the Orange and Blue's 2026 NCAA Tournament Final Four run on March 19 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C.
Illinois first met Penn in Philadelphia in a 70-44 road win on Jan. 20, 1947. Illinois hosted the Quakers twice in Champaign, an 80-61 win on Dec. 18, 1948, and a 75-65 victory on Dec. 22, 1950.
Prior to last year's matchup in the NCAA Tournament, the Illini won three other times in neutral settings - 98-66 on Dec. 26, 1962 at Madison Square Garden (ECAC Holiday Festival), 68-58 on March 17, 2000 in Winston-Salem, N.C. (NCAA Tournament First Round), and 78-71 on Nov. 20, 2001 in Las Vegas, Nev. (Las Vegas Invitational).

Illinois-Penn Connections

The Fighting Illini are very familiar with Quakers' head coach Fran McCaffery from his highly successful tenure at Iowa from 2010-25. During that period, the Illini were 16-11 (.593) vs. the Hawkeyes.
Head coach Brad Underwood has led the Fighting Illini to a 10-6 (.625) mark in 16 matchups vs. his friend and colleague, McCaffery, including a 9-6 mark as B1G rivals.
The Underwood-McCaffery friendship goes well beyond basketball. Underwood, a long-serving member of the Coaches Council for the American Cancer Society's partnership with Coaches vs. Cancer (CVC), and the Chair of the CVC Coaches Council since May 2024, annually hosts Kickin' Cancer, an event that has grown into the largest fundraising banquet in the CVC program. Over the years, Underwood has welcomed a number of coaching colleagues as guests including Bill Self, Lon Kruger, Greg Kampe, Chris Collins, and Dana Altman. During the 2023 fundraiser, Underwood was joined by Tom Izzo, Matt Painter, Fred Hoiberg, and McCaffery, all of whom coached in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Illinois assistant coach/defensive coordinator Camryn Crocker is a Penn alumnus who played four years for the Quakers (2011-12 to 2014-15). Crocker, in his second season at Illinois, served as team captain during his senior ear and earned two degrees from Penn, a Bachelor of Arts in 2015 and a Master of Science in Education in 2018.

Preseason Accolades

In the buildup to the 2026-27 season, four members of the Fighting Illini roster - David Mirkovic, Andrej Stojakovic, Tomislav Ivisic and Quentin Coleman - have been recognized as national preseason awards candidates.
David Mirkovic earned preseason first-team All-America honors from both the Associated Press and CBS Sports, and a second-team nod from Field of 68. He has also been named to preseason watch lists for Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year, NABC Player of the Year, and the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year.
Andrej Stojakovic and Tomislav Ivisic joined Mirkovic on the Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year watch list, and are each listed for the second straight season on watch lists for Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year, respectively.
David Mirkovic and Andrej Stojakovic were also tabbed as a preseason All-Big Ten selections.
Quentin Coleman is one of only three freshmen on the 20-player watch list for Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year. Last season, Illinois' freshman Keaton Wagler won the award.