#5 Illini Set for Orange Out Wednesday vs. Northwestern

#5 ILLINOIS (19-3, 10-1 B1G) vs. Northwestern (10-12, 2-9 B1G)
Date | Time	Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026 | 8 p.m. CT
Location	Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center
Buy Tickets	FightingIllini.com
TV	BTN (Kevin Kugler & Jess Settles)
Live Stream	FoxSports.com/live/BTN
Radio	Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | Varsity Network App | SiriusXM 84, SXM APP
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Printable Notes	Illinois | Northwestern
Pregame Press Conference	Coach Underwood (Feb. 3)
2025-26 Stats	Illinois | Northwestern
Record Book	Illinois
Shop	Online Store | Auctions
Social Media	@IlliniMBB | #Illini | @IlliniMBB | Facebook | YouTube

Head Coach Brad Underwood

Career Record: 293-131 (.691), 13th year
At Illinois: 184-104 (.639), 9th year
Big Ten: 102-67 (.604)

Series History vs. Northwestern

All-Time Record / Streak: Illinois leads 146-45 / Illinois W-2
Last Meeting: #13 Illinois 79, Northwestern 68 (1/14/2026 in Evanston)
Record in Champaign / Streak: Illinois leads 75-14 / Illinois W-9
Last Meeting in Champaign: #17 Illinois 83, Northwestern 74 (1/26/2025)
Underwood vs. Northwestern: 12-5

OPENING TIPS

• No. 5 Illinois hosts Northwestern on Wednesday night at State Farm Center. It is Hail to the Orange Out presented by Gameday Spirit. All Illini fans are encouraged to wear Orange, and t-shirts will be given to the first 1,000 fans at the Main West Entrance.
• Illinois is riding an 11-game win streak, the program's longest since opening the 2012-13 season at 12-0. It is the longest active winning streak in the Big Ten, third among Power Five teams, and seventh nationally.
• Illinois is coming off its second top-5 road win of the season, 78-69 at No. 5 Nebraska on Sunday, just eight days after an 88-82 road win at No. 4 Purdue on Jan. 24. The Illini earned consecutive top-5 road wins for the first time in program history and secured their seventh top-10 win in a visiting arena under Brad Underwood over the last seven seasons, the most in the nation.
• Illinois is 19-3 overall, owning its best start in 20 years, since opening the 2005-06 season at 20-2. 
• Illinois is one win away from its seventh straight 20-win regular season under Brad Underwood. The Illini are one of only four teams to do so each of the previous six years, alongside Gonzaga, Houston and San Diego State.
• Illinois is 10-1 in the Big Ten, the program's best start to conference play since the 2004-05 squad won its first 15 league games as part of 29-straight wins to open the season. The 2005 Illini swept the Big Ten regular season and Tournament titles and advanced to the Final Four, finishing as the NCAA runner-up at 37-2. 
• Illinois has won nine consecutive Big Ten games, one away from matching its longest streak of the Brad Underwood era in conference play of 10 straight across two seasons from Feb. 25, 2021 through Jan. 13, 2022.
• Illinois' next victory will secure a winning Big Ten record for the seventh straight season. Illinois is the only team to finish above .500 in Big Ten play in each of the previous six seasons.
• Illinois is 11-1 at home this season, the program's best start since opening 12-1 at State Farm Center in 2019-20. The Illini are averaging 89.0 points per game at home, with an average scoring margin of +22.9 ppg. 
• The Illini carry a seven-game Big Ten road win streak dating back to last season, the program's longest since setting the school record with 13 in a row across two seasons from Feb. 3, 2004 through Feb. 19, 2005.
• Keaton Wagler is one of only two NCAA freshman averaging at least 18 points, five rebounds and four assists on the season, alongside Duke's Cameron Boozer.
• Among players with at least 24% possessions used, Wagler ranks first nationally in offensive rating at 140.7. He is eighth among all players. 
• Wagler's scoring average of 18.1 points per game is on pace to break the Illini freshman season scoring record set by Kiwane Garris, who averaged 15.9 ppg in 1993-94.
• Wagler ranks third in the Big Ten in scoring during conference play, averaging 22.0 points.
• Wagler earned his fifth B1G Freshman of the Week honor (second straight) on Monday after his performance at No. 5 Nebraska which included 28 points, five rebounds, and two steals. He also posted 22 points, five rebounds and eight assists in a home win vs. Washington. 
• On Tuesday, Wagler was named a midseason top-10 candidate for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, and the Oscar Robertson High-Major Player for January by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
• Wagler earned National Player of the Week honors on Jan. 26, following one of the greatest scoring performances in college basketball history with a record 46 points in the Illini's win at No. 4 Purdue (see p. 3 for full list of Wagler's records set). 
• Wagler has seven 20-point games this season, closing in on the Illini freshman record of 10 set last year by Kasparas Jakucionis, who is now rookie with the Miami Heat.
• Illinois leads the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency (130.9), owning what currently stands as the highest offensive rating in the history of the kenpom era (since 1996-97). 
• Offensive coordinator Tyler Underwood has helped Brad Underwood implement a top-15 offense for the third straight season after ranking third in 2024 (125.5) and 14th last year (121.9).
• Illinois is ranked No. 5 in kenpom, challenging for the highest rating of the Underwood era. The Illini finished the 2020-21 season at No. 4.
• Illinois is No. 5 in the latest AP poll, the team's highest ranking this season, and its highest since finishing at No. 2 in the final poll of the 2020-21 season. Illinois has been ranked in the AP Top 25 in each of the last seven seasons under Brad Underwood.
• Illinois is the tallest team in the nation, with an average height of 79.5 inches (kenpom).
• The Illini have the most wins in Big Ten play since 2019-20 with 91 victories. During that span, Illinois also leads all teams with 40 league road wins. 
• When including the conference tournament, the Illini have a league-leading 98 wins over Big Ten teams over the last seven seasons, and are tied for the lead with three B1G championships during that span.  
• Four Fighting Illini average at least 12 points per game, tied for second nationally: Keaton Wagler (18.1 ppg), Kylan Boswell (14.3), Andrej Stojakovic (13.3), and David Mirkovic (12.4). 
• Illinois is tied for first nationally with six players averaging at least 4.0 rebounds (minimum 15 games): David Mirkovic (8.2 rpg), Tomislav Ivisic (5.3), Keaton Wagler (5.0), Zvonimir Ivisic (5.0), Andrej Stojakovic (4.5), and Kylan Boswell (4.2). 
• Illinois ranks eighth in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten with a free-throw percentage of 78.9%. Last year the Illini shot 76.2% at the free-throw line, the second-best season mark in school history behind the 2014-15 team that holds the single-season record at 79.4% 
• Illinois is averaging 84.6 points, ranked second in the Big Ten. The Illini led the B1G in scoring last season (83.6 ppg). 
• Along with the No. 1-rated offense (130.9) of the kenpom era, the Illini are No. 24 in defense (98.8) this year.
• Illinois is first in the nation in defensive free throw rate (18.7), and second in fewest fouls per game (12.8).
• Illinois is averaging 16.0 second chance points per game (351), which leads the Big Ten.
• Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten averaging 11.0 three-pointers and has made 10+ 3-pointers in a Big Ten-leading 16 games this season with a 14-2 record. The Illini have knocked down at least 10 triples in 12 of the last 14 games, highlighted by school-record tying 18 treys in the win at No. 4 Purdue on Jan. 24. 
• Illinois has outrebounded its opponent 19 of 22 games this season and ranks second in the Big Ten (sixth nationally) in rebound margin at +10.8 rpg.
• Eight different players have been the Illini's leading scorer in a game this season. That leads the Big Ten and is tied for second nationally behind VCU (9).
• Illinois is No. 6 in the latest NCAA NET rankings, second in the Big Ten behind Michigan (3). Illinois is 10-3 on the season combined in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games, and 9-0 combined in Quad 3 and Quad 4 matchups.
• Illinois' total of seven Quad 1 wins is the fourth-most in the NCAA, behind co-leaders Arizona (9), Duke (9), and Michigan (8) through games played Feb. 1. Five of Illinois' seven wins in this category are Quad 1A.
• Andrej Stojakovic is the second active Illini to reach 1,000 career points, reaching the milestone Jan. 17 vs. Minnesota. Stojakovic now has 1,051 points to rank behind Kylan Boswell (1,195) in the 1,000-point club.
• Illinois is No. 5 in the kenpom rankings with an adjusted efficiency margin +32.12. The Illini have had a kenpom rating of 35th or better each of the last six years under Brad Underwood, and are one spot short of the team's high ranking of No. 4 to close out the 2020-21 season. Illinois posted consecutive top-20 rankings the last two seasons: 10th in 2023-24 and 17th in 2024-25.
• At its current scoring pace (84.6 ppg), this year's Illini are challenging to become just the sixth team in program history to average at least 85.0 points for a full season. The Illini opened the 2025-26 campaign 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. 
• Brad Underwood has led Illinois to 32 wins over top-25 opponents since 2019-20, with 23 of those wins coming in ranked-vs.-ranked matchups. Illinois' 32 top-25 victories are ninth-most in the NCAA during that span. This season the Illini have ranked wins over No. 11 Texas Tech at home, vs. No. 13 Tennessee in Nashville, at No. 19 Iowa, at No. 4 Purdue, and at No. 5 Nebraska.  
• Illinois is 5-3 this season vs. Top 25 teams. The Illini's remaining schedule includes ranked matchups at No. 10 Michigan State (Saturday) and vs. No. 2 Michigan (Feb. 27). 
• As a team, Illinois ranks in the top three in the Big Ten, and among the top 50 programs nationally in 11 categories: The Illini lead the Big Ten with 12.8 fouls per game (second in the NCAA), a .789 free-throw percentage (eighth), 11.0 3-pointers per game (15th), and 13.3 offensive rebounds per game (32nd), and rank second in the league with a +10.8 rebound margin (sixth in the NCAA), a +16.4 scoring margin (11th), 41.2 total rebounds per game (17th), and a scoring offense of 84.6 points per game (32nd). The Illini are third in the B1G with 30.8 3-point attempts per game (14th in the NCAA), 27.9 defensive rebounds per game (23rd), and 4.9 blocks per game (23rd). 
• Illinois has claimed seven of 12 Big Ten Freshman of the Week selections this season. Keaton Wagler leads the Big Ten with five honors, while David Mirkovic has garnered two nods. 
• Keaton Wagler has scored in double-figures 14 consecutive games dating back to the Illini's win vs. #13 Tennessee on Dec. 6, including an historic 46-point outburst in a win at #4 Purdue on Jan. 24 (more on p. 3). During that stretch, Wagler is averaging a team-leading 20.8 points per game, and ranks fourth in rebounding at 4.8 boards per contest, while shooting 50.0% (86-172) overall, 46.9% (46-98) from 3-point range, and 82.0% (73-89) from the free-throw line. Wagler also leads the team with 77 assists and 11 steals during that stretch. 
• Freshman G Keaton Wagler leads the Illini and ranks among the Big Ten leaders with: a .438 3-point percentage (1st), 136 free-throw attempts (5th), 56 3-pointers made (5th), 399 total points (8th), 2.55 3-pointers per game (7th), 111 free-throws made (7th), a 2.82 assist-to-turnover ratio (9th), 93 total assists (10th), 18.1 points per game (10th), 4.2 assists per game (11th), 128 3-point attempts (11th), 116 field goals made (14th), and 242 field goal attempts (17th). Wagler also ranks 12th in the Big Ten minutes per game at 32:16.  
• Freshman F David Mirkovic, is one of only three freshmen in the nation, along with Duke's Cameron Boozer and North Carolina's Caleb Wilson averaging at least 12.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists. 
• 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: 181 total rebounds (fourth in the B1G, 56th in the NCAA); 5.7 defensive rebounds per game (fourth, 65th); 8.2 total rebounds per game (fifth, 60th); five double-doubles (sixth, 82nd); 2.6 offensive rebounds per game (eighth, 134th); and is fourth with a scoring average of 12.4 ppg (38th in B1G). 
• Senior G Kylan Boswell is the Illini's active career leader with 1,195 career points (687 at Illinois), with eight 20+ point games and 36 career double-digit scoring games in Orange and Blue. Boswell is tied for the team lead 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 13.6 points on 49.3% shooting. Stojakovic has five games this season with 20+ points, highlighted 30 points vs. Maryland and 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 five games this season. 
• Twin 7-footers Tomislav Ivisic and Zvonimir Ivisic rank among the top shooting big men in college basketball. Tomislav ranks first in the NCAA among 7-footers with 10 games this season with multiple 3-pointers, while Zvonimir is tied for second with eight such games. Tomislav is also tied for first in the NCAA among 7-footers at 1.6 3-pointers per game, while Zvonimir ranks tied for fourth at 1.0 triples per contest.
• Zvonimir Ivisic, a member of the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year watch list, ranks second nationally in block rate at 14.6%. He is third in the Big Ten in total blocks (50) and blocks per game (2.27), 16th and 19th in the nation, respectively. His average would rank second all-time in Illinois' record book behind Derek Holcomb (3.0 blocks per game in 1978-79). The last Illini to average more than 2.0 blocks per game was Nnanna Egwu (2.1) in 2013-14.

ILLINI MAKE HISTORY WITH BACK-TO-BACK TOP-5 ROAD WINS

• Following Illinois' 88-82 win at #4 Purdue on Jan 24 and the team's 78-69 win at #5 Nebraska Feb. 1, the Fighting Illini captured consecutive road wins against top-5 opponents for the first time in program history. 
• Illinois also won consecutive games against top-five opponents away from home for the second time under Brad Underwood. In 2021 Underwood led his squad to a dominating road win at #2 Michigan (76-53) on March 2, followed 11 days later by a neutral-site victory over #5 Iowa (82-71) in the semifinal round of the Illini's run to the 2021 Big Ten Tournament title at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. 
• Illinois two top-5 wins are tied for the second-most in a single season, and one off the school record of three set during the 1950-51 season.

ILLINOIS VS. NORTHWESTERN

• Thursday marks the 192nd meeting in the all-time series between Illinois and Northwestern, the fifth-most for the Illini vs. any opponent in program history.
• The first game, an 18-13 Illinois win, took place on March 7, 1908 in Evanston and sparked six straight Illini wins to begin the series.
• The Illini are 146-45 all-time vs. Northwestern, including a 75-14 advantage at home with nine straight wins in Champaign since Feb. 28, 2015. 
• Head coach Brad Underwood has led the Illini to a 12-5 record vs. NU, which included a run of eight straight wins from March 3, 2019 through Feb. 13, 2022. Underwood is 7-0 vs. Northwestern at State Farm Center. 
• Wednesday is a rematch of Jan. 14 in Evanston, when Keaton Wagler and Tomislav Ivisic tallied 22 and 21 points, respectively, to lead the Fighting Illini to a 79-68 win at Welsh-Ryan Arena.  
• Last year when Northwestern visited State Farm Center, the Fighting Illini captured an 83-74 victory behind 17 points from Kylan Boswell and a near triple-double effort of 11 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists from Kasparas Jakucionis. Ben Humrichous (14 points) and Jake Davis (11) knocked down a combined seven 3-pointers.
• Illinois is 56-7 (.889) all-time as a ranked team when facing Northwestern.

ILLINI IN THE NET

• Illinois is No. 6 in the NCAA NET ranking though games played Feb. 1. 
• The Illini's No. 6 rating ranks second in the Big Ten co-leader Michigan (3). 
• The Illini are 7-3 vs. Quad 1, 3-0 vs. Quad 2, 2-0 vs. Quad 3, and 7-0 vs. Quad 4.
• Illinois' seven Quad 1 wins are fourth nationally behind Arizona (9), Duke (9) and Michigan (8). 
• The Illini's remaining nine-game regular-season schedule breaks down to: 
  » Quad 1 (5): at Michigan State (11), vs. Indiana (30), at USC (48), at UCLA (44), and vs. Michigan (3).  
  » Quad 2 (2): vs. Northwestern (71), and vs. Wisconsin (41). 
  » Quad 3 (2): vs. Oregon (116), and at Maryland (170).  

ILLINOIS WHEN RANKED

• The No. 5 Illini have played all 22 games this season ranked in the Top 25. 
• Illinois is 671-270 (.713) all-time when ranked in the AP Top 25. The program is 366-54 (.871) at home, including a 288-41 (.875) mark at State Farm Center, 165-150 (.524) on the road, and 140-64 (.686) at neutral sites. 
• Under head coach Brad Underwood, Illinois is 109-46 (.703) when ranked.

ILLINI WHEN TOP-10 RANKED

• Illinois is ranked inside the AP top 10 for the 245th week in program history, including three weeks this season. 
• Illinois is 330-108 (.753) all-time in 438 games when ranked in the AP top 10. 
• When top-10 ranked, the Illini are 172-11 at home (112-7 at State Farm Center), 83-72 on the road, and 75-25 in neutral-site contest.

Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)