After a 4-point upset win over No. 11 Texas Tech (2-1) on Tuesday, No. 14 Illinois (3-0) plays the final game of its opening home stand on Friday night before heading up to Chicago next week to play No. 8 Alabama (2-1) at the United Center. The visiting team is Colgate (1-2), and Illinois will look to extend its all-time record against the program to 6-0.
Meet Colgate
Colgate has been a top-tier program over the past few years in the Patriot League and has also been featured on the national stage. The Raiders won back-to-back conference championships in 2023 and 2024, earning automatic berths into the NCAA tournament both years. Current Illini assistant coach and defensive coordinator Camryn Crocker was an assistant for Colgate during those runs.
Last season, Colgate failed to make March Madness after falling in the semifinals of the Patriot League tournament, but the program is still one of the best mid-major non-conference opponents Illinois will face all year. Illini head coach Brad Underwood had high praise for them and expects a versatile opponent on Friday night.
“Very skilled, their system is spectacular in terms of what they do,” Underwood said. “The court’s very open. They’ve got bigs who can shoot it, they cut, everything’s read-based.”
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
The Raiders are led by junior guard Jalen Cox, who has averaged 15 points on a very strong 69.6% shooting to start the year. He has also averaged six assists and six rebounds through Colgate’s first three games, proving his ability to impact the game in multiple ways.
“He’s got great size, he’s got great speed,” Underwood said of Cox. “He gives them really kind of a one-man fast break at times. Very willing passer, he’s got a terrific midrange game. He’s a challenge to stay in front of.”
While most of Cox’s offensive output has come inside the arc, he has knocked down all three triples he’s put up this season. Perhaps a more lethal threat from deep though, is senior guard Kyle Carlesimo, who is a high-volume 3-point shooter.
Carlesimo is shooting 50% from three to start the year and went 4-4 from long range in Colgate’s most recent game against Drexel (1-2). The inside-outside threat that Cox and Carlesimo provide in the backcourt will be key for the Illini defense to hone in on.
In terms of big men who can shoot it, 6-foot-9 junior forward Sam Wright is the main threat. Last season, he shot 35.7% from three, and is shooting that same clip over the first three games of this season. Wright leads the Raiders in scoring (18.3 points per game) and is second in rebounding behind Cox, so he will be an important player for the Illini big men to put a body on.
Balancing defensive priorities will be the main focus for the Illini on that end of the floor Friday evening.
“With pick-and-pop bigs, you’ve got to respect (Cox) and you got to be able to contain 3-point shooting from their bigs,” Underwood said.
Illini on the mend
Illinois has been without its full roster to start the season, with injuries plaguing multiple players. While junior center Tomislav Ivišić and redshirt junior guard Ty Rodgers will still be out on Friday, other players are closer to making their return.
Sophomore guard Mihailo Petrović is as close as ever to making his collegiate debut after injuring his hamstring. He dressed on Tuesday and went through pregame warmups, but did not play. Underwood is hopeful that Petrović feels good enough to go on Friday.
“We’re at a point now with (Petrović), he practiced (Thursday), everything is about what the recovery piece is after,” Underwood said.
Freshman guard Brandon Lee has also been sidelined after sustaining an ankle injury in practice the day before the season opener. Lee was in a boot for a period of time, but he was seen out of it on Tuesday. He also may make his regular-season debut Friday, but Underwood could not yet provide a final decision.
“I would expect Brandon to be in uniform,” Underwood said. “I don’t know what that will look like with him yet.”
On Tuesday, junior wing Andrej Stojaković played his second game after being out for almost two months with a knee injury. Stojaković played at an extremely high level, scoring 23 points on an efficient 11-16 shooting, and had the game-sealing block. Despite looking smooth and composed, his conditioning is still not yet where it needs to be, and there is room for progress.
“(Stojaković) played more minutes than I would have expected him to play (against Texas Tech),” Underwood said. “He was gassed, and he asked multiple times to come out. The timeout was for him in particular, making sure he was in a good spot … He got through it, he was effective. I think we still got two, three steps yet to get to, to be effective, to play both ends.”
@sahil_mittal24
