Last updated on Nov. 22, 2025 at 11:05 p.m.
Coming off a four-point loss to No. 11 Alabama (3-1) at the United Center, No. 8 Illinois (4-1) returns to Champaign for a pair of, on paper, easier games against LIU (3-2) and UTRGV (2-2). The matchup with Long Island comes first at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, and it will be a good chance for Illinois to rebound from a tough loss. Also, ahead of a Nov. 28 matchup with No. 3 UConn (4-1) in New York City and a Dec. 6 contest with No. 20 Tennessee (5-0) in Nashville, Tennessee, this pair of games gives Illinois an opportunity to fix some of the issues it had against Alabama.
Fixing mistakes
Being more intentional with every possession, taking advantage of every opportunity and not making careless errors were the big takeaways from the loss to Alabama for head coach Brad Underwood and his team.
“We’ve gotta learn to value possessions, not just outcomes of games; we made too many mistakes,” Underwood said. “You strive for perfection in an imperfect game, and that’s what drives me as a coach.”
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Shooting 9-17 from the free-throw line in the second half, junior wing Andrej Stojaković having four first-half turnovers, the offense being stagnant coming out of halftime and freshman forward David Mirković virtually disappearing in the second half, all contributed to the loss. Many of those mistakes were preventable, and the Illini are extremely focused on tightening up their play and reducing those errors against the Sharks.
“Every time after a loss, you learn more than after a win,” Mirković said. “For sure, obviously we weren’t at the level we should be. We took some things that we worked on today, we talked a lot and I think we will improve that in the future for sure. … I think that second half was the worst half I have ever played in my life. I can say that for sure.”
LIU is a disruptor
Long Island is a problem on the defensive end that could pose tricky for Illinois, despite being, at face value, an unassuming mid-major program..
“They’ve got really good size on the perimeter,” Underwood said. “They’ve got a 7-foot kid in the middle who’s athletic and was a high-major recruit. They’re one of the top teams in the country defensively in terms of forcing turnovers. Their block rate is very high, and they play very hard. They’re very disruptive on the defensive side.”
To compare, Long Island ranks in the top 100 of D1 programs at forcing turnovers, averaging 15.25 per game, while Illinois is almost dead last. Despite having strong individual defenders in senior guard Kylan Boswell and junior center Zvonimir Ivišić, the Illini as a whole have not been good at forcing opponents to lose the ball, averaging only eight forced turnovers per game. That is tied for third-worst in the nation.
The Sharks have converted on their opponents’ mistakes, averaging 14.8 points off turnovers this season, which is higher than the average of all of the Illini’s previous opponents this season. Illinois itself only averages 11.6 points off turnovers. Long Island is sure to be a team that can get going if Illinois is careless with the ball, like they were at moments against Alabama, and is not sharp offensively.
“They’re denying and very aggressive,” Underwood said. “They turn their defense into offense.”
Injury updates
On Wednesday, sophomore guard Mihailo Petrović made his season debut after dealing with a hamstring injury, and junior center Tomislav Ivišić returned after being out for three games with a knee injury. Both players played limited minutes. Freshman guard Brandon Lee remained out but was dressed. At practice on Friday, Underwood provided updates on all three players and their progress.
Underwood on Petrović: “Saw no sign (of issues) with Mihailo. I thought Mihailo was terrific the other night and impacted the game when he was in. First time in a pretty big atmosphere against a pretty good backcourt. And he did a lot of positive things. That’ll help our increased depth.”
Underwood on Tomislav: “He’s a guy that’s working his tail off, doing extra stuff, he’s getting extra conditioning. He’s pushing as many boundaries as he can push to get back in the best shape he can. And there’s no doubt we need him on the court. He makes us a better basketball team. And so I think that his response was fine. He was in good practice today.”
Underwood on Lee: “I thought Brandon had his best day today as well, and I’ll feel a little more comfortable with him back in the rotation as well.”
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