After winning its first two games of the season, No. 14 Illinois (2-0) will face its first first ranked opponent of the year in No. 11 Texas Tech (2-0) on Tuesday at State Farm Center. Texas Tech is coming off a deep 2024-25 NCAA tournament run where it made the Elite Eight before losing to Florida, 84-79. The Red Raiders lost a few key players to the transfer portal last season, but reloaded their roster with new talent.
The Illini will still be without their full roster in the matchup. Junior center Tomislav Ivišić is out with a knee injury alongside freshman guard Brandon Lee and redshirt junior guard Ty Rodgers. Sophomore guard Mihailo Petrović will be dressed in uniform, but is unlikely to play per head coach Brad Underwood.
Testing the offense
Texas Tech is the first of multiple Top 25 teams Illinois will face throughout the next month. Scheduling games the Illini could play in March, especially early in the season, will pay dividends later on.
“We want to be the best,” Underwood said. “So, you have to play some of the best teams in the country to do that, and I think we’ve got a nice stretch coming up here where you’ve got some high-level opponents, teams competing for national championships and final fours, and you want to find out where you’re at.”
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As the Red Raiders are a physical defensive team, the Illini offense will be put to the test. In its first two games, Illinois dominated offensively. It defeated Jackson State and Florida Gulf Coast by a combined total of 101 points. The Illini’s offensive versatility and ability to exploit defenses were on full display in both matchups.
One of Illinois’ strengths is its ability to pass. This opens the door for numerous ways to put points on the board. Whether it is by finding cutters or driving the paint to kick back out, the Illini aren’t struggling to score, and that starts with their unselfishness. Also, in transition, not one player dominated, pushing the ball up the floor — a different look for Illinois than in years past — and one that is difficult to defend.
“I almost think that everybody who’s going to get a defensive rebound can bust out one to two dribbles up the floor, which makes it even more dangerous,” said graduate student forward Ben Humrichous. “Last year, coach Underwood’s emphasis was all guards get rebounds so we can get out and run, but now with David (Mirković), with Big Z (Zvonimir Ivišić), and even with Tomi (Tomislav Ivišić) … it even just helps with our turbo, playing faster.”
So far this season, the Illinois offense hasn’t hit any speed bumps and has increased the scoring margin early into each game. Tuesday night could be a different story. Illinois’ response to Texas Tech’s physical defense will reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the offense.
Limiting Toppin, Anderson
While the Red Raiders used the transfer portal to reload, they did have two key players from last season’s roster who didn’t need replacing. Two games into the season, junior forward JT Toppin and sophomore guard Christian Anderson are already proving to be tough for opposing teams to guard.
Last season, Toppin had a career year. He was awarded Big 12 Player of the Year, Second Team All-America and a semifinalist for Jersey Mike’s Naismith Player of the Year, all as only a sophomore. Toppin also averaged 18.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. After missing the season-opener due to a lower-body injury, Toppin is picking up right where he left off. In his first game against Sam Houston, the junior put up 31 points and 14 rebounds. His performance made a statement that the injury wasn’t a setback.
Defending Toppin will be a team effort from Illinois’ defense. At 6-foot-9, Toppin doesn’t have a size advantage over most of the Illini. However, his efforts on the glass help him be successful. Of his 14 rebounds in the season-opener, eight of them were offensive. Keeping Toppin off the offensive glass will be crucial for Illinois to limit his impact.
“(Toppin) gonna be a real test for us with his physicality, with his ability to get to the rim, score around the rim, offensive rebound,” Humrichous said.
Anderson may be younger than Toppin, but that doesn’t make him any less dangerous. In his freshman season at Texas Tech, Anderson averaged 10.6 points, 3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He also shot 38% from three, making three in Texas Tech’s Sweet Sixteen win over Arkansas. Anderson started out the 2025-26 season with his first career double-double against Lindenwood. Anderson scored 34 points and dished out 11 assists.
Over his last two games, Anderson shot 54.5% from three, contributing to the Red Raiders’ strong perimeter play. Guards senior Kylan Boswell and freshman Keaton Wagler have their work cut out for them. Keeping Anderson off the three-point line and contesting all his attempts is key defensively.
“When you face really good talent, they’re going to make some baskets,” Underwood said. “You don’t want to give them the easy stuff. You want to make it hard, you want to make it stressed. You understand that they’re capable of having big nights, but you don’t want them to do it cause you’re making mistakes, you want to have them earn it.”
Prepared for the challenge
Every matchup Illinois has had thus far has prepared them for this one with Texas Tech. The Florida scrimmage last month allowed Illinois to experience the physicality of one of the top frontcourts in the country. That toughness around the rim is something they will see again Tuesday night. Against Florida Gulf Coast, Illinois responded well to the physical challenge by converting at the free-throw line and grabbing rebounds. Freshman forward David Mirković had 11 rebounds while Boswell grabbed 10.
The Illini aren’t strangers to teams that shoot plenty of threes either. Anderson and the rest of the Red Raiders will also try to score plenty of threes. Jackson State and Florida Gulf Coast both had 29 and 27 three-point attempts, respectively, in their matchups with Illinois. The Illini defense contributed to each team shooting under 30% in those games as well.
“We’ve seen those guys perform in that caliber of a game,” Underwood said about Illinois’ mentality. “You have to go out and execute and do your job and make the adjustments that they’ll throw at us, but they’ve been able to handle all of that so far.”
@evy_york2
