Illinois basketball once again took care of business, this time the victim was Florida Gulf Coast.
The Illini have never looked this good two games into a season. We are clicking on both ends of the court, and the offense, especially, has been eye-popping.
From the jump, this game got out of hand. Illinois soared to an early 17-1 lead over Eagles and never looked back. A 59-27 halftime lead would eventually increase into a 113-70 pounding of Florida Gulf Coast.
Here are five exciting observations from the Illinois basketball win over Florida Gulf Coast
1. Illinois looks incredible without a full roster
Any fully healthy program in the country would kill to be doing what Illinois is doing right now. We are 2-0 and have completely dominated our opponents this season.
The crazy part for the Illini is that we haven’t been even close to fully healthy to start the season. In both games, Illinois has had at least three key contributors out with an injury.
In game one of the season, the Illini were missing Mihailo Petrovic, Brandon Lee, and Andrej Stojakovic. The result was still a 58-point drubbing of Jackson State. Two of those players are projected starters, and the other, Brandon Lee, is going to be a nice rotational piece.
On Friday night against Florida Gulf Coast, the Illini thrashing continued. We beat them by 43 points, and Illinois was missing Petrovic, Lee, and Tomislav Ivisic. Ivisic is a full-time starter and arguably our best player.
It is hard to pinpoint one other team in the country that could average winning by 50.5 points against DI teams without two starters and a key rotational piece through the first two games. Illinois has a chance to be a juggernaut once everyone is suiting up.
2. Illinois averaging 113 points is silly
I know that the level of opponent that Illinois has played in the first two games of the season isn’t exactly top-tier. Jackson State and Florida Gulf Coast might be bad this season, but they are still DI programs with DI talent.
With that being said, Illinois is still scoring at a clip that no one has ever seen before. We put up 113 points against Jackson State, and then the Illini followed that great scoring performance with another 113-point performance on Friday night against Florida Gulf Coast.
The thing that piques my interest is that Illinois scored 113 points in back-to-back games in very different ways.
Against Jackson State, Illinois was nearing a program record of three-pointers made. We hit 17 three-pointers and shot 45.9% from beyond the three-point arc. It was a great display of scoring from the perimeter.
The style was a bit different against Florida Gulf Coast. Illinois still peppered in the three-pointers, making 11 and shooting a solid 35.5%, but this was more of an inside game for the Illini.
Kylan Boswell was great going downhill. He got to the rim a lot and was effective. I can say the same for Keaton Wagler and David Mirkovic. They were not afraid of contact and were able to get to the rim.
In addition to more of an inside game, Illinois went to the free throw line 34 times and converted 30 of those attempts. That was a result of being more aggressive toward the basket.
Scoring 113 points in one game is amazing. Doing it in back-to-back games to start the 2025-26 season is just silly. Illinois has so much offensive firepower.
3. Zvonimir Ivisic was a huge transfer portal steal
Over the past half-decade or so, the transfer portal has been a hot thing. Brad Underwood, an old dog in the game, learned new tricks. He adapted to the transfer portal, and the result is Illinois being a competitive team every season.
Terrence Shannon Jr. has been Underwood’s best transfer portal get thus far. While Zvonimir Ivisic might not get to the Shannon level of greatness, he was a massive steal in the 2026 transfer portal cycle.
On a night like Friday, in which Illinois had big man Tomislav Ivisic out with injury, it is an incredible luxury to have his brother, Zvonimir, to call. He stepped into the starting job as a 7-foot-2 big man who has the same abilities as his brother.
Ivisic was great against Florida Gulf Coast. He ended the game playing 29 minutes and put up 16 points, nine rebounds, and seven blocks.
What is funny is that you rarely see a great defensive stopper being able to shoot from three-point range. Ivisic broke out of his bad first game from beyond the three-point arc to hit 3-of-6, 50%, from three-point range against Florida Gulf Coast. So, we have a 7-foot-2 big man who can have seven blocks and knock down three three-pointers in a game. Let that soak in.
Illinois needed talent to build around Kylan Boswell and Tomislav Ivisic. Underwood went out and got one of the best big men you could possibly get. What a huge transfer portal addition.
4. Did Illinois get the steal of the class of 2026
While Zvonimir Ivisic was a known player who followed John Calipari around at a couple of programs, he wasn’t a high-level transfer portal guy, as he was the No. 41 transfer portal player in the offseason. I could classify him as a great steal in the transfer portal for Brad Underwood.
Underwood didn’t just have one steal this offseason. As time goes on, I think I am going to start calling Keaton Wagler a steal in the class of 2026.
I mean, it kind of sounds crazy that I can call someone a steal when they were the Kansas Player of the Year, but Wagler didn’t have a ton of recruiting attention. Minnesota was his only other power-four offer on the table.
Thankfully, Illinois ended up winning out in the Wagler sweepstakes. He has been sensational for the Illini. On Friday night, Wagler dropped 22 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, while shooting 7-of-9 from the field.
Visually, you can see Wagler’s ability. He plays with great emotion and love of the game. Wagler drives to the basket and takes contact. He can step back and knock down a three-pointer in your eye. This kid has a bit of attitude, but in a good way. It isn’t ego, it is confidence.
At the end of the day, I didn’t think Wagler was going to be what he looks to be right now. I bought into the recruiting sites. Honestly, Wagler isn’t just playing well, but he is making a strong case to retain his spot in the starting lineup.
5. It’s Stojakovic time for the Illini
It was just game two of the Illinois basketball season, but finally, we got to see one of the prized transfer portal additions on Friday night.
Andrej Stojakovic took the court for the first time with the Illini. He has a ton of potential, but Brad Underwood did a smart thing by bringing the junior off the bench. This eased Stojakovic back into action, and he played pretty well.
By game's end, Stojakovic logged 22 solid minutes. He dropped nine points, five rebounds, and three assists on 4-of-10 shooting from the field. He was just getting back into action, so Stojakovic was a little sloppy with three turnovers, but I was pleased with what I saw out of him.
Now that Stojakovic is back healthy, I think it is pretty clear that it is time for him to be back in the starting lineup. I love what Jake Davis brought Illinois in the first two games, but he is a nice rotational piece, and that is what he will be moving forward.
These past two games were just tune-ups for what is about to come for Illinois. On Tuesday, I expect the lineup to be different. Illinois should ramp up the intensity and look for Stojakovic to be back in the starting lineup, trying to take down No. 10 Texas Tech.