Illinois

Illinois’ ceiling was on display in St. Louis

Published

3 months ago

December 26, 2025

Press Room

Illinois’ ceiling was on display in St. Louis

For the past several seasons, Illinois has had “as high of a ceiling” as virtually any program in the nation.

The full height of that ceiling was on display in St. Louis last night. Not just offensively, but defensively as well.

The historic whooping of rival Missouri showed the Illinois fanbase the true potential of this year’s roster, which felt much needed after a disappointing loss to Nebraska at home a week prior.

On offense, Illinois looked like the juggernaut that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing over the past half-decade or so. 91 points, 15 made threes, 20 assists, and full control over the rebounding battle helped keep the Illini in control over the Tigers all night.

Keaton Wagler continued his sensational freshman campaign, posting 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. Tomislav Ivisic and Andrej Stojakovic combined for 30 points and 5 made threes. Star senior Kylan Boswell was relatively quiet, but the rest of the Illini supporting cast stepped up. That’s the beauty of a deep and absurdly talented roster.

We could talk at length about how special Illinois is on the offensive side of the ball. They look dominant as a full unit and have a number of stars that can give you an Earth-shattering individual performance on any given night. There’s a reason they’re ranked second in offensive efficiency on KenPom, Bart Torvik, and Haslametrics. The offense is simply that good.

The Illini defense on the other hand…hasn’t always fit the bill. Despite a solid defensive efficiency rating on metric sites like KenPom, I think it’s fair to say that the Illinois defense hadn’t passed the eye test until Monday night in St. Louis.

Camryn Crocker’s group did hold Tennessee to 62 points in Nashville, but it surrendered 23 offensive rebounds and gave the Volunteers more than enough opportunities to put up points. The team’s defensive performance against Tennessee wasn’t even in the same stratosphere as their effort against Missouri.

Missouri scored just 48 points. The Tigers shot 29% from the field and 27% from beyond the arc. They recorded 10 turnovers compared to just 6 assists. Illinois won the rebounding battle by 19. Missouri had 8 shots sent back at them.

You’d be a fool to expect Illinois to look like that every single outing. Illinois does have some great individual defenders in Kylan Boswell and Zvonimir Ivisic and the majority of the rotation can at least hold their own individually. The overall team defense hasn’t been up to par this year though.

JT Toppin went for 35 against the Illini. Labaron Philon had 24. Bruce Thornton put up 34. Pryce Sandfort posted a career-high 32. For a few minutes it looked like Missouri’s Anthony Robinson II was well on his way to a great scoring night, but Illinois eventually put him in check.

Letting a player go for a career-high isn’t necessarily the worst strategy in the world. It’s unlikely that one guy can beat your entire team, especially with the offensive firepower that Illinois possesses this season. When Illinois fans complain about an opposing player going nuclear, I think it has more to do with the frustration that comes from the self-inflicted mistakes that Illinois players have been making defensively rather than the agony that results from someone making a tough shot.

Everyone knows that the Illini defense can be better. Simple miscommunications, blown switches, and basic scouting report errors seem to have plagued the defensive unit in critical moments early on this season. That can be fixed. It definitely looked a whole lot better against Missouri.

Illinois has made an interesting adjustment on the defensive end this year. In Brad Underwood’s first eight years at the helm, Illinois ranked top-100 in the nation in defensive 3PA/FGA rate. They ranked top-40 each of the last six years and top-10 each of the last two years. They rank 177th so far this season.

Instead of defending the three-point line like their lives depend on it, Illinois has let opponents launch away. 35.9% of opponents’ points have come from threes this season, compared to just 27.0% last season.

Missouri launched 22 threes on Monday night, making just six. When they tried to drive the ball, Zvonimir Ivisic wreaked havoc in the paint. Illinois got some great defensive performances individually as well. Keaton Wagler stuck out to me personally.

With a handful of new players and a huge schematic adjustment like Illinois made this offseason, there were bound to be some growing pains as a defensive unit. A dominant performance against Missouri was a step in the right direction.

In order to win games late in March, a team needs both a great offense and a great defense. We know that Illinois has at least one of the two. In St. Louis, we saw a glimpse of the other begin to emerge.

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Illinois

Illinois Secretary of State’s Office warns of ‘new surge’ in scam texts

Published

11 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Illinois Secretary of State’s Office warns of ‘new surge’ in scam texts

The Illinois Secretary of State’s Office is warning residents of a “new surge” in scam texts claiming to be from the DMV and demanding money.

According to a press release from Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, residents are receiving text messages falsely claiming to either be from his office or a DMV, threatening suspension of license and vehicle registration if “fines” are not paid.

The messages often include links that can be used to steal residents’ information, and Giannoulias’ office is reminding residents to use vigilance and caution when receiving such messages.

“These text messages look legitimate and are designed to frighten people into acting quickly before they have time to think,” Giannoulias said. “Our office will never send a text message demanding payment or threatening to suspend someone’s license. If you receive a message like this, remember it’s a scam – plain and simple. Do not click the link and please report the message to scamalert@ilsos.gov.”

According to his office, the messages often reference fake regulations or deadlines, and cite an upcoming enforcement date to add an air of urgency to the texts.

“These schemes are designed to create panic and trick individuals into surrendering money or personal information,” the Secretary of State’s Office said.

If a motorist receives a text, they are urged:

-NEVER to click a link

-Do not reply

-Do not provide personal information

-Forward the message to the SOS’ scam alert email.

The only legitimate text messages the Secretary of State’s Office sends are to remind motorists of upcoming appointments at DMV facilities.

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Illinois

LIVE UPDATES: No. 11 VCU vs. No. 3 Illinois in NCAA tournament. Follow along here.

Published

23 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

LIVE UPDATES: No. 11 VCU vs. No. 3 Illinois in NCAA tournament. Follow along here.

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Illinois

How to watch VCU vs. Illinois men’s basketball: Second Round TV channel and streaming options for March 21

Published

1 day ago

March 21, 2026

Press Room

How to watch VCU vs. Illinois men’s basketball: Second Round TV channel and streaming options for March 21

March 21, 2026Updated 7:46 pm EDT

The No. 3 seed Illinois Fighting Illini (25-8) take on the No. 11 seed VCU Rams (28-7) with a Sweet 16 spot on the line on Saturday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

How to watch VCU Rams vs. Illinois Fighting Illini

Stats to know

Illinois has a +501 scoring differential, topping opponents by 15.2 points per game. It is putting up 85.0 points per game to rank 17th in college basketball and is allowing 69.8 per outing to rank 67th in college basketball.
Illinois knocks down 11.0 three-pointers per game (eighth-most in college basketball), 2.6 more than its opponents (8.4). It is shooting 34.9% from deep (126th in college basketball) while allowing opponents to shoot 31.3%.
VCU has a +347 scoring differential, topping opponents by 9.9 points per game. It is putting up 81.6 points per game, 55th in college basketball, and is giving up 71.7 per outing to rank 116th in college basketball.
VCU knocks down 9.4 three-pointers per game (60th in college basketball) at a 36.9% rate (31st in college basketball), compared to the 6.8 per game its opponents make, at a 32.9% rate.

This watch guide was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.

Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

Photo: Patrick Smith, Andy Lyons, Steph Chambers, Jamie Squire / Getty Images

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Mar 22, 2026