Illinois used bench play and a stifling defensive effort to extend its winning streak to seven straight games.

January 17, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Less than three days after watching his twin brother secure the final shots in a road victory at Northwestern, Zvonimir Ivisic knew Saturday afternoon was his turn.

The twin brother of Illinois starting center Tomislav Ivisic led the Illini from his bench role in an early start contest against Minnesota at State Farm Center that at several times became an offensive slog but produced the seventh straight win for the home team. In just 18 minutes of action, Zvonimir Ivisic had 18 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals in a 77-67 victory over Minnesota.

Zvonimir Ivisic, who transferred in after stops at Arkansas and Kentucky, had 13 points in a first half where No. 13 Illinois (15-3, 6-1 in Big Ten Conference) shot just 12 of 35 from the field but the newer version of the Ivisic brothers to Illini fans produced six of the Illini’s 10 points in the paint in the first 20 minutes of action. In a seven-minute stretch of the first half, Zvonimir Ivisic produced eight points to eventually keep Illinois tied at halftime with an inspired Minnesota squad playing on the road for the first time since Jan. 3 and with just a seven-player rotation.

Minnesota (10-8, 3-4) was led by the offensive explosiveness of Jaylen Crocker-Johnson. The 6-foot-8 wing player, who followed Gophers head coach Niko Medved from Colorado State last season to Minnesota, had a game-high 22 points that included five baskets from three-point range. While playing in all 36 games for the Rams, he helped CSU to the Round of 32 in the 2025 NCAA Tournament by averaging nine points and 4.4 rebounds in 21.5 minutes last season. Before his CSU tenure, Crocker-Johnson played at Arkansas Little Rock where he started in 33 of 34 games as a freshman. He finished 8 of 18 from the field on Saturday and eight rebounds.

The key in Illinois’ second-half turnaround was Crocker-Johnson picking up his third foul with 13 minutes and 28 left in the game. After that moment, Crocker-Johnson was 1 of 7 from the remainder of the contest with just two points.

Keaton Wagler seems well on his way to picking up a third straight Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor as he dropped another 17 points in this game on 4 of 8 shooting from beyond the three-point arc with five assists and four rebounds in 38 minutes. He entered this week having scored in double-figures in eight straight games, including all five Big Ten contests, before exploding for 22 points in the Wednesday's win at Northwestern and getting what appeared to be a casual 17 points on Saturday.

Illinois ranks first in the nation in defensive free throw rate and limited the Gophers to just 3 of 3 from the charity stripe in this contest. The Illini are now 12-1 when making double-digit threes (lone loss to Alabama) after connecting on 13 of 35 from long range on Saturday including 8 of 14 in the second half to combat the Minnesota zone defense.

Minnesota has been dealing with an injury-plagued campaign as Medved has announced point guard Chansey Willis Jr. will miss the remainder of the season due to a right foot injury. Willis Jr., who started in all eight games for the Gophers and led the Big Ten Conference in steals prior to his injury, played at Western Michigan last season as led the Mid-American Conference in with 16.8 points and 5.8 assists.

Illinois freshman forward David Mirkovic, who has been dealing with a flu blug for the past week, had all 12 of his points in the second half but also added eight rebounds in a 32-minute effort that saw him return to the starting lineup.

Illinois will next host Maryland on Wednesday before taking on a Top 10 road challenge at No. 5 Purdue one week after this win over the Gophers. Illinois is currently 3-3 this season vs. Top 25 teams. With five ranked Big Ten teams in the most recent Associated Press poll, the Illini's current schedule could feature as many as 10 ranked games during the regular season.