Can the No. 3 Illini men meet sky-high expectations? What to know about Illinois basketball this season.

CHICAGO — When David Mirković thought back to the Illinois men’s basketball team’s postseason run in the spring, his favorite experience off the court was deboarding the plane at Willard Airport after the Elite Eight win over Iowa.

The Illini had just made their first Final Four in 21 years, and people came out en masse to celebrate the team led by the freshman duo of Keaton Wagler and Mirković.

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“When we came back to the airport and I saw thousands of fans, that was pretty impressive,” Mirković said earlier this month during Big Ten media days. “It felt like a movie.”

Mirković and the Illini have spent the last seven months preparing for the sequel — with a partially altered cast. Wagler is in the NBA after an extraordinary All-America freshman season. Kylan Boswell and Ben Humrichous, whom coach Brad Underwood called “championship-level role players,” also are gone.

But Mirković, wing Andrej Stojaković, centers Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivišić and forward Jake Davis return to lead a team that looks the part of another contender as it enters Monday’s season opener against Fairleigh Dickinson ranked No. 3 in the AP poll.

That is, as long as the Illini can get and stay healthy.

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Four of the five aforementioned players missed at least part of an exhibition loss to Baylor last week. Mirković was wearing a boot and riding a scooter before the game as he continues to recover from left foot surgery. He had been seen walking and practicing without both, but Underwood said the sophomore forward now is expected to miss some regular-season games.

Stojaković and Zvonimir Ivišić left the Baylor game after hitting their heads, and Tomislav Ivišić left with a knee issue.

As the Illini look to get their health back on track, they’re motivated after their experience last season, which ended with a loss to Connecticut in a national semifinal.

“The most difficult part about it is getting to the highest point in college basketball that weekend and having to wait…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/no-3-illini-men-meet-093000250.html

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Publish date : 2026-10-28 09:30:00

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