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By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

February 21, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

The Illini have one more West Coast matchup on Saturday night when they take on UCLA in a matchup of NCAA tournament teams. Illinois still has an outside shot at a Big Ten title and a #1 seed, but this win would likely keep them entrenched on the 2-line and make the Michigan matchup next Friday the biggest game of the Big Ten season.

Here’s a look at the particulars.

Setting the Stage
#10 Illinois (22-5, 13-3 B1G) at UCLA (17-9, 9-6 B1G)
Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026 // 7 p.m. CT (5 p.m. PT) // Los Angeles, Calif. // Pauley Pavilion
TV: FOX – Tim Brando (Play-by-Play) & Jim Jackson (Analyst)
Radio: Busey Bank Illini Sports Network – Brian Barnhart (Play-By-Play) & Deon Thomas

Notable
* No. 10 Illinois closes a two-game road trip to Los Angeles on Saturday night, facing UCLA at Pauley Pavilion.

*Illinois is coming off two wins coinciding with the returns of Kylan Boswell and Andrej Stojakovic from injury. The Illini posted a 71-51 home win over Indiana on Sunday as Boswell returned from a seven-game absence (hand). Illinois limited the Hoosiers to a season-low 51 points (20 in the second half). David Mirkovic led all scorers with 25 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists. Wednesday night, Stojakovic returned after missing two games (ankle) and tallied a game-high 22 points – one of seven Illini to score in double figures – to help lead Illinois to a 101-65 road win at USC. The 36-point victory was Illinois' largest in a B1G road win in 80 years.

*Keaton Wagler, named Thursday to the Naismith Trophy Late-Season Team, is also the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the sixth time this season. Wagler has netted 490 points, just five away from breaking the Illini freshman season scoring record of 494 total points set by Cory Bradford in 1998-99 and equaled by Kasparas Jakucionis last year.

*Illinois leads the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency (131.9), owning what currently stands as the highest offensive rating in the history of the kenpom era (since 1996-97).

*Illinois ranks fourth in the latest NET rankings and is tied for second in the nation with five Quad 1A wins. Illinois is 22-5 overall, the program's best record since going 25-5 during the regular season in 2005-06 Illinois' 13-3 Big Ten record is its best since the 2004-05 squad that went 15-1, swept Big Ten regular season and tournament titles, and advanced to the Final Four before finishing as the NCAA runner-up at 37-2. Illinois has won at least 13 Big Ten games five times in the last seven seasons, with head coach Brad Underwood accounting for five of the eight-winningest Big Ten seasons in school history with a school-record 16 wins in 2021, 15 in 2022, 14 in 2024, and 13 in both 2020 and 2026.

*Illinois is 7-1 on the road in Big Ten play, one away from the school record eight league road wins in 2020-21.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

February 21, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The buzz around Illinois’ 2025 women’s basketball recruiting class was unmistakable long before the players arrived on campus. Touted as one of the most decorated classes in recent memory, the five-player group carried both international flair and homegrown promise. As the season nears its close and postseason conversations intensify, one freshman in particular has validated the hype and perhaps exceeded it.

The unique makeup of the class includes two international standouts: Cearah Parchment and Manuella Alves-Fernandez. Parchment, from Whitby, Ontario, Canada, attended Fort Erie International Academy. Alves-Fernandez, a Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, native who prepped at IMG Academy, has been sidelined this season with a knee injury.

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

February 20, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

LOS ANGELES – Following No. 10 Illinois’ 101-65 win over USC on Wednesday, head coach Brad Underwood had a luxury of positives to take away, but he was quick to show his praise for two rotational players whom he lauded as the best “glue guys” in the entire country.

One of those guys was Ben Humrichous, who in year two at Illinois has developed in a way that makes him almost a different player than he was last year. The senior, now in his fifth year of college basketball following three years at NAIA school Huntington and one at Evansville, has always carried a reputation as a shooter. This year, he’s one of six players on the roster shooting above 30% from deep.

Humrichous, alongside his glue guy partner Jake Davis, spoke to the media on Friday before the team’s Saturday matchup against UCLA. Humrichous said that the glue guy title is something that means a lot to him, and he also went on to explain what exactly what that role is for him.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

February 20, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Penn Athletics)

It's time to review the position we've all been wondering about: the defensive line. As Illini fans know, the portal was unkind to the Illini at this position as we saw player after player walk out the door and join other P4 programs, particularly in the Big Ten. The Illini have replaced those players with other portal entrants, especially from low major schools. But, there are questions upon questions, and as I write this more questions arise with the defection of defensive coordinator Aaron Henry. So, new DC Bobby Hauck will have the difficult job of sorting through this group and figuring out how this is going to work.

Newcomers
I wrote a spotlight piece on Carter Janki from Yale already. He's a solid player who started out as a high school quarterback and bulked himself up to the 300-pound range and is well-schooled in hand usage and foot positioning.

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

February 20, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

LOS ANGELES – Typically, a big-time road win over a conference foe might be met with some braggadocious celebrations. There were no silencers or crowd shushers against the Trojans, but not because the Illini weren’t confident in their 101-65 win.

The split in the crowd was a near-even split to start the game, with the traveling Illini faithful showing out in Los Angeles in big numbers. Once the Trojan student section filed out midway through the second half, it was practically a home game.

“It’s nuts,” senior guard Kylan Boswell said. “I remember being a freshman here for the SC game when I was at Arizona, it was packed red. Now, seeing us and how we’re traveling, it’s pretty surreal. It’s just another great thing about Illinois basketball, just how much our fans love us and care about us.

Boswell, having played at Arizona for two years before making the move to Illinois two offseasons ago, is familiar with the Trojans. In his career, he was 4-2 against the Trojans going into Thursday’s game.

“It’s pretty crazy to see,” the Champaign native said. “We’re all the way in California, and there’s more orange and blue than red and gold.”

Illinois head coach Shauna Green had been pushing and suggested a players-only meeting to change the negative momentum from first-half calamities but knew it had to reach a breaking point.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

February 19, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — When immediately asked after a 32-point blowout victory over Wisconsin, who initiated a players-only meeting before a practice, Shauna Green says she didn’t know.

Deep down in her conscious, Green absolutely knew. The Illinois women’s basketball head coach called for it.

“I told them to meet a couple of weeks ago,” Green said with a smile. “I planted some seeds in some of my individual meetings with (players) to do this, to help them. I don’t care who did it really, as long as it happened.”

Following a very energy-less and lethargic loss to Southern California in front of a sold-out State Farm Center, Green knew something needed to happen to cause a spark of emotion with her team and began putting in the minds of players familiar with her (such as Jasmine Brown-Hagger and Berry Wallace) to “get it figured it out”.

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

February 19, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

Illinois cruised past USC in a 36-point beat down that saw Illinois put seven players in double figures led by Andrej Stojakovic and his 22 points to move to 22-5 and 13-3 in the Big Ten. The Illini got off to a quick 8-0 start and led by 22 points at half and continue to pile on until the final buzzer Illinois led by as many as 39 points in the second half before winning by 36 in the 101-65 domination.

Now the Illini stay in Los Angeles and prep for a big game on Saturday against the UCLA Bruins, attempting to be just the 3rd team to sweep the L.A. schools on the west coast trip since they entered the Big 10.

These 3 Things

Defensive Versatility - We have talked for a while about how Illinois needs to be more diverse on the defensive end of the floor. They have reached that point in 2026.

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

February 19, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

LOS ANGELES – Everybody in and around the tenth-ranked Illinois men’s basketball program has been raving about being “whole again” and being that at the right time. In its first game with its full roster in nearly a month, Illinois played quite possibly its most complete and dominant game of the season in a 101-65 road win over USC.

The game, which was a blowout from start to finish, saw the Illini roster as close to fully healthy as it has been all year long, with forward Andrej Stojakovic cleared to return from an ankle issue and guard Kylan Boswell suiting up for the second time since returning from a hand fracture. Stojakovic ended with a game-high 22 points in just over 17 minutes off the bench – the most efficient scoring output he’s had in his collegiate career. After missing the last two games, he returned without missing a beat, scoring a majority of his points at the rim or at the charity stripe following a foul at the rim.

“Obviously it’s tough to get my wind back with a lower body injury, so we just tried our best to get me in game shape while staying mentally focused,” Stojakovic said on the days leading up to his return.

In its first trip to Southern California’s Galen Center, […]

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

February 18, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Sunday’s game against the Indiana Hoosiers at State Farm Center carried significance well beyond the final score.

Illinois snapped a two-game losing streak with a decisive 71-51 victory, powered by freshman David Mirkovic’s 25 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Yet the Illini’s dominant performance on a nationally televised CBS broadcast was only part of the story. The arena also served as a reunion point for former Illinois standouts now in the NBA and a showcase moment for current commits and future recruiting targets.

Since Brad Underwood took over the program in the 2017-18 season, he has emphasized building a program that alumni take pride in returning to. That vision was visible on Sunday.

“Other than the win, the best part of my day was my locker room afterwards the game. When you get to former players being here, and Terrance (Shannon Jr.) has been here all week, that you get former players, enough though Dain (Dainja) left us, but this is home to him, you get those dudes back. Then you have some newbies in the room that haven't worn the jersey yet, and your current players, that's what this is all about. We can talk about wins and losses, but the relationships and all that is pretty cool,” Underwood said.

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

February 18, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

The Illini are on the West Coast for the week, flying out to Californian on Monday afternoon as they will play a pair of road games in LA against the USC Trojans on Wednesday night and the UCLA Bruins on Saturday. The Illini now have senior guard Kylan Boswell back and are hoping they will have junior wing Andrej Stojakovic back this week as well as they try to get healthy heading into March.

Here’s a look at the particulars.

Setting the Stage
#10 Illinois (21-5, 12-3 B1G) at USC (18-7, 7-7 B1G)
Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026 // 9 p.m. CT (7 p.m. PT) // Los Angeles, Calif. // Galen Center
TV: BTN – Guy Haberman (Play-by-Play) & Don MacLean (Analyst)
Radio: Busey Bank Illini Sports Network – Brian Barnhart (Play-By-Play) & Deon Thomas

Notable
*No. 10 Illinois opens a two-game road trip to Los Angeles on Wednesday night, facing USC at the Galen Center. Illinois is coming off a dominant 71-51 home win over Indiana on Sunday afternoon. The Fighting Illini limited the Hoosiers to a season-low 51 points – including just 20 in the second half – and had just two turnovers, its fewest ever at State Farm Center. The contest was also marked by Kylan Boswell's return from a seven-game absence with a broken hand. David Mirkovic led the Illini with 25 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

*Keaton Wagler is the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week, his sixth honor his season. Wagler averaged 26 points, five assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in a pair of games last week on 50% shooting from the field, including 43% from 3-point range. Wagler's six B1G Freshman of the Week accolades are the second-most in program history behind Kofi Cockburn's seven newcomer awards in 2019-20. Wagler has netted 480 points, just 14 away from the Illini freshman season scoring record of 494 total points set by Cory Bradford in 1998-99 and equaled by Kasparas Jakucionis last year.

* Illinois leads the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency (130.9), owning what currently stands as the highest offensive rating in the history of the kenpom era (since 1996-97). Illinois ranks fourth in the latest NET rankings and is tied for second in the nation with five Quad 1A wins.

*Illinois is 21-5 overall, the program's best 26-game record since also starting 21-5 in 2008-09. Illinois' 12-3 Big Ten record is its best since also starting 12-3 in 2020-21. Illinois last started 13-3 or better when the 2004-05 team won its first 15 league games. The famed 2005 Illini squad swept Big Ten regular season (15-1) and tournament titles and advanced to the Final Four, finishing as the NCAA runner-up at 37-2. Illinois has secured its seventh straight 20-win regular season under Brad Underwood. Illinois, Gonzaga, and Houston are the only three programs to win at least 20 regular season games every year since 2019-20. Illinois has also clinched a winning Big Ten record for the seventh straight season. Illinois is the only team to finish above .500 in Big Ten play every year since 2019-20.

Illinois used a surge in the second and third […]

New Illinois defensive line coach Jordan Thomas brings an expertise in the 3-3-5 scheme while also having college and pro coaching history on his resume.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

February 17, 2026

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The major transition of the Illinois defensive coaching staff is now complete with the hiring of defensive line coach Jordan Thomas.

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema said last week, during Bobby Hauck’s introductory media conference inside the Smith Center, that he had a coach inside the building on an interview who was familiar with the 3-3-5 scheme being brought to Champaign-Urbana by new defensive coordinator Hauck but had never previously worked with Hauck.

It turns out that person was Thomas as he was announced on Tuesday morning as the Illini’s new defensive line coach to replace Terrance Jamison. Thomas joins the Illini with 10 years of coaching experience ranging from college football to the National Football League, including stops at Boston College, the Cleveland Browns, and San Diego State.

“(Thomas) is a talented leader with experiences in our defense as both a player and coach, plus three years of developing defensive linemen in the NFL,” Bielema said in a university release. “We are excited to welcome Coach Thomas to our staff."

Illinois (17-8, 7-7) vs. Rutgers (9-16, 1-13) Tuesday, Feb. […]

By Larry Smith - IlliniGuys Co-Founder

How sweet was that?

Not just a win over Indiana. On national TV. But a complete butt-whippin'. That 71-51 shellacking of the hated rival Hoosiers was impressive in every way.

--It gave the Illini their first back-to-back 20-point wins in the series since 1956, before either program built an arena called Assembly Hall. Illinois thrashed Indiana 94-69 on their home court last year.
--It was the fewest points the Hoosiers scored against Illinois since falling 72-48 in March 2011 and their season-low point total.
--David Mirkovic scored a Big Ten career-high 25 points, giving notice to the nation of the Illini's other star freshman. It was reminiscent of fans tuning in to watch Terrence Shannon Jr. only to see Marcus Domask dominate with a series of moves.

It also marked the return of Kylan Boswell. The senior re-entering the starting lineup with a heavily-bandaged right hand, the remnants of that break suffered in practice nearly four weeks and seven games earlier. Determined to light a spark on the defensive end, he made his presence felt on offense as well with nine points - including a first half three-pointer - and seven rebounds in 33 minutes.

But there something else about this game that should have caught your eye. The Illini left their shooting prowess at home.