Why Zvonimir Ivisic Is Illinois Basketball’s X-Factor in 2026-27

In his first campaign at Illinois, big man Zvonimir Ivisic missed just 12 two-pointers all season. Think about that for a second. He went 59-for-71 (83.1 percent) inside the arc in 2025-26. Defensively, Big Z registered a gaudy 1.9 blocks per game as a reserve (that’s 4.5 per 40 minutes).

His advanced numbers were spectacular: an offensive box plus/minus of 3.40 and a defensive box plus/minus of 4.41, per EvanMiya. Ivisic’s overall 7.81 was the second-best box plus/minus on the Illini (behind Keaton Wagler’s 9.84), and good for No. 53 in the country.

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Considering Wagler is now a member of the Los Angeles Clippers, Ivisic is, statistically speaking, the Illini returner with the most significant on-court impact. The metrics can’t quantify everything, obviously, but Ivisic is clearly a massive plus for Illinois in his minutes on the floor.

How Zvonimir Ivisic can have a greater impact in 2026-27

Jan 29, 2026; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Zvonimir Ivisic (44) celebrates a win against the Washington Huskies at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last year, Illinois connected on 391 threes, the largest total in the Brad Underwood era – and by a fairly wide margin. As a squad, the Illini hit 34.5 percent of their threes. Meanwhile, Ivisic connected on only 28 three-pointers on the season – at a clip of just 28.0 percent.

Despite that figure, Ivisic was still incredibly productive on the offensive end, posting that aforementioned offensive box plus/minus of 3.40 in 2025-26. The (very) encouraging news: Big Z came to Champaign after two college seasons (at Kentucky and then Arkansas) with a career three-point percentage of 37.6.

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There’s absolutely no reason to expect that Ivisic’s beyond-the-arc shooting won’t bounce back next season. Now imagine if he levels back out at 37 percent (or in that vicinity) while still offering his usual play-finishing ability as a lob threat and…

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Publish date : 2026-07-09 16:12:00

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