4. Illinois is going to be a monster on the glass
I touched on this earlier, but I will mention it again. Illinois was missing three starters for the game against Illinois State. Among the starters was Tomislav Ivisic.
Ivisic and his brother, Zvonimir, are both over 7-foot tall. Illinois also has the rising start in David Mirkovic, who is 6-foot-9. At the end of the day, one of the things I took from the win over Illinois State is that we are going to be a nightmare on the glass.
Illinois should be able to rack up rebounds at an incredible rate. I fully expect to see both Ivisic brothers in the game at various times. Each one should be on the floor throughout the game. Naturally, being that tall, they are going to scoop up rebounds.
Mirkovic is the one I am keeping an eye on. He has a natural ability to suck up rebounds. His athleticism will shine bright on the court, and he is smart about timing and aggression to get rebounds.
The trio of the Ivisic brothers and Mirkovic should help lead Illinois this season. I haven’t even mentioned the great rebounding ability of the Illini guards. Kylan Boswell is always nasty on the glass, and Ben Humrichous was second on the team in rebounds against Illinois State. This should be a top 10 rebounding team in 2025-26.