Last updated on Nov. 30, 2025 at 03:17 p.m.

The shots were not falling in New York City for the No. 13 Illini (6-2), as it failed to crack the No. 5 UConn Huskies (6-1) on Friday afternoon. Senior guard Kylan Boswell was more than impressive in the 13-point loss, but even with him carrying Illinois on his back for almost 40 minutes straight, it was not enough. Almost all of his teammates failed to make any significant impact, which made it tough for Illinois to take advantage of any chances it had to come back and get close to UConn.

“I think it comes down to toughness,” Boswell said. “Coming out there and doing everything that matters to win the game.”

*Keaton Wagler (C): Wagler was largely a non-factor in Illinois’ loss. The freshman guard has been extremely impressive this season, proving to be a dog on the offensive glass and a high-IQ guard that makes good decisions and scores in multiple ways. However, that was not the case against the Huskies.

Wagler had two fouls in six minutes of first-half play and was pulled out of the game until the second half, where he played eight minutes. He finished the game with only one rebound and 3-points on 1-3 shooting, with his sole bucket coming in the early minutes of the first half. 

*Kylan Boswell (A): The lone bright spot for Illinois in New York City was Boswell. The veteran guard put the Illini on his back, keeping them in the game on both ends of the floor.

“Very proud of Kylan and the job he did, basically playing 40 minutes,” said Illini head coach Brad Underwood. “Had his hands full with (Solo) Ball most of the night. He guarded (Alex) Karaban, he guarded (Silas) Demary. And then did a nice job on the offensive side for us.”

In 39 minutes, Boswell scored 25 points on 8-16 shooting from the field and 7-7 from the free-throw line.  Boswell’s energy throughout the afternoon and aggressiveness in getting to the rim were impressive, especially when his efforts went mostly unsupported and he almost never came out of the game.

“I don’t think there’s many people in the nation that’s going to stop me from getting downhill,” Boswell said. 

*Andrej Stojaković (D): After being the star of the season so far for Illinois, Stojaković was nowhere to be found against UConn. The junior wing shot an abysmal 1-7 from the field, including 1-6 in the first half. Stojaković only played eight minutes in the second half, failing to make any impact in a game where Illinois needed him the most.

The Illini cannot have its star, who was brought in to score, only score one bucket against a top-five team in the country. Yes, other players also failed to be effective, but as a leader and star of the team, Stojaković has to step up when the lights are the brightest.

*David Mirković (D+): If Mirković had not missed four 3-pointers in the first half, he would’ve had a positive opening 20 minutes. In 13 minutes on the court, the freshman forward scored six points on 3-4 shooting inside the arc, dished out two assists and had six rebounds, half of which came on the offensive glass. The missed threes, however, absolutely tanked his first-half efficiency.

The second half was essentially a scratch from Mirković, who, in five minutes, committed two fouls and missed both of his shots. His play against top-tier competition, seen in both this game and the loss to formerly No. 11 Alabama, has been lacking compared to his outstanding performances in Illinois’ games against low-major opponents. His shooting consistency and defensive speed need to improve if he is going to perform consistently at the level he has shown in flashes early on.

“Just keep going, work hard,” said junior center Tomislav Ivišić about what he would tell Mirković. “We shoot thousands of balls every day. If it doesn’t go in, one or two, you can’t tell a guy that makes a thousand shots every day to not shoot them. We all know he can make them, it’s just make them. As a team if we see it’s not working, we need to get to the foul line, free throws.”

*Tomislav Ivišić (B): Friday’s game was a tale of two halves for Tomislav. In the opening 20 minutes, Tomislav looked passive on both ends of the floor and was not active on the glass. Two points and two rebounds from the team’s starting center was not anywhere near what was expected of him, but that changed in the second half.

Tomislav flipped a switch, showing a real fight that he has yet to show in limited game action this season. He had eight rebounds in the final 20 minutes to go along with a corner three and a well-executed post move that extended an Illini run to 11-0.

Consistency will be key for Ivišić in the long run. He has shown that he can be aggressive and use his body to be effective on both ends. Now, it’s just a matter of him going out and doing it every game. As one of Illinois’ most impactful players last season and a 2026 NBA Draft hopeful, he needs to step up this year and embody the all-out effort that Underwood preaches to his teams.

“Just being that aggressive from the jump,” Boswell said about what he wants to see from Tomislav. “Sometimes he can be timid in an aggressive standpoint. I’m always on his butt about it in practice and the games, just making sure his energy is there.”

Mihailo Petrović (C-): Petrović entered the game off the bench and looked solid on his first few plays, controlling the offense like a true floor general. His speed and ability to operate in the pick-and-roll were impressive early, but that ended quickly. The Huskies shut down Petrović after he dished out two quick assists, not letting him register another and holding him to 1-7 shooting. Despite the failed execution, it is clear to see that Petrović has the offensive chops to be effective; he just needs to get through the growing pains of the college game.

“If you get foul trouble with Boswell, you’ve got (Petrović) who’s a starting caliber point guard coming off the bench,” said UConn head coach Dan Hurley. “ He’s kind of like a crafty magician with the ball out there. He’s a fun player to watch unless you got to play against him. The way he manipulates his on ball defender in the ball screen game, and his change of pace and his vision.”

Defensively, Petrović had a lot of trouble staying in front of UConn’s guards. With his smaller frame, defense was always going to be a challenge for the Serbian. Underwood did not look happy with Petrović after a few failed defensive plays during the game, but chalked up the errors to lack of practice. 

“He needs practice,” Underwood said. “He’s new to our system. It’s all new, it’s all foreign. You saw him at the end of the game get into people and really be an aggressive type guy. His conditioning has to continue to improve and get better. We’ve had so many games, we haven’t spent much time on conditioning. … And then it’s just communication. It is talk. It is seeing things.”

Zvonimir Ivišić (C-): Defensively, Zvonimir was a force to be reckoned with on Friday, showing off his ability as a rim protector once again. His five blocks were crucial in stemming UConn’s progress around the rim. The Huskies would likely have stepped on the Illini by much more than they did if Zvonimir were absent.

Offensively, Zvonimir was horrible. In 17 minutes, he shot 1-7 from the field, including going 0-5 from three in the second half. Three of those five 3-point misses came in under a one-minute span; Zvonimir was just chucking up bad shots at that point, and he got pulled out of the game because of it.

Ben Humrichous (D+): Of all the players on Illinois, fans typically have the most divisive reactions to Humrichous, whether that be his shooting, defense or if Underwood should be giving him minutes at all. That was no different after Friday’s contest, with Illini fans on social media debating if he was the issue in the loss.

Humrichous had five points on 1-4 shooting and only one rebound, far from an impressive performance. Defensively, he had some lapses, including a major failure to defend a Husky pick-and-roll that allowed them to stretch their lead to 11 heading into halftime. However, he also showed energy and fight at certain points. 

Humrichous definitely did not help the Illini, but to be fair to him, plenty of other players who are expected to do more did not show up either. It was the team’s collective lack of production that ruined their chances of winning, not just one role player.

Brandon Lee (B): With Petrovic having issues on the defensive end against UConn’s backcourt, Underwood inserted Lee into the game late in the first half to provide some defensive edge. Lee only played six first-half minutes and five in the second, but he did a great job of providing solid defense on UConn’s bigger guards and slowing their early offensive output.

“Brandon Lee, I thought, was terrific,” Underwood said. “He gives us, with Kylan, communication, talking (defensively).”

Jake Davis (F): Underwood put Davis in the game with just under nine minutes remaining in the contest, presumably to help the Illini find some offensive success when it could not make a shot. Unfortunately, Davis did not make his only 3-point attempt.

Instead, he controversially fouled UConn guard Malachi Smith on a circus-shot three, which he made, giving the Huskies a four-point play with just over two minutes remaining. That play by Smith increased the UConn lead from only seven to 11, essentially sinking any chance for an Illinois comeback.

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