Showers developing this afternoon with the possibility of a thunderstorm. High 82F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..
Rain ending early. Then remaining mainly cloudy. Areas of patchy fog developing. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
Updated: July 13, 2025 @ 6:12 am
Brad Underwood has Illinois men’s basketball in a good place this holiday season: sold-out crowds on a consistent basis at State Farm Center in Champaign, beating rivals right before Christmas (hello, Missouri) and putting the Illini in contention every week for a spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
College/Prep Sports Reporter
Brad Underwood has Illinois men’s basketball in a good place this holiday season: sold-out crowds on a consistent basis at State Farm Center in Champaign, beating rivals right before Christmas (hello, Missouri) and putting the Illini in contention every week for a spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
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Welcome to “Good Morning, Illini Nation,” your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey. He’ll offer up insights every morning on Brad Underwood’s team and college basketball at large:
CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein went deep on the Big Ten earlier this week with his new “Inside College Basketball Now” podcast. Purdue was a major topic of conversation in a “Final Four or bust” kind of way for the Boilermakers. Rothstein also discussed Michigan as a challenger for Purdue at the top of the league and Michigan State’s potential challenges.
Then came Rothstein’s Big Ten power rankings.
Here’s what he had to say about Illinois, who he ranked sixth in the conference heading into the 2025-26 season …
“Brad Underwood has doubled down on the foreign influence. The biggest thing, though, I like about Illinois, again, players back. Ky Boswell back as a starter from an NCAA tournament team. Tomislav Ivisic back as a starter from an NCAA tournament. Ben Humrichous has experience.
“There are also a number of interesting foreign additions. Andrej Stojakovic from Cal is the impact addition. Mihailo Petrovic is expected to be the floor general for Illinois. Here’s the interesting thing about Andrej Stojakovic, though, going from Cal to Illinois. He’s on his third program in three years. This, to me, is where the rubber is going to meet the road for Andrej Stojakovic’s career.
“If you look at his career for the last two seasons, he was at Stanford, he was at Cal. He goes to Stanford, and coach Jerod Haase loses his job. He goes to Cal, and Cal was not a factor in the ACC. As of right now, to this point, Andrej Stojakovic is a player who puts up numbers on bad teams. Now he goes to Illinois — one of the most consistent programs in the Big Ten — and he is going to have to prove he can produce in a winning situation. He is going to have to prove he can go on the road and get buckets on the road in the Big Ten. That is an interesting, interesting dynamic to watch this season in Champaign.”
Scott Richey covers college basketball for The News-Gazette. His email is srichey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@srrichey).
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