Illinois basketball starts the season on Monday with a nice tune-up game against Jackson State.
The game is slated to start at 7:30 p.m. CT/8:30 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network. All Illini fans are excited to see the team on the court for a real game, but the question of who will be on the court still looms large.
There was a big injury update on Saturday, though. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported that newcomer Mihailo Petrovic, the projected starting point guard, and Ty Rodgers will both be out for the contest.
In the social media post, Rothstein also mentions that big man Tomislav Ivisic is a go, and it will be a coin toss on whether or not clutch transfer Andrej Stojakovic will see the floor in game one.
Illinois' Andrej Stojakovic (knee) will "probably be a game-time decision" for Monday's opener vs. Jackson St, per Brad Underwood.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) November 1, 2025
Transfer from Cal who averaged 17.9 PPG last year.
Tomislav Ivisic (tonsils) will play.
Mihailo Petrovic (hamstring) & Ty Rodgers (knee) are OUT.
Everyone knew that Rodgers was going to be out. He is dealing with a partially torn patellar tendon, and he continues to rehab it. It is complete speculation, but I would venture to say we don’t see Rodgers until 2026.
I am happy to see Ivisic is a full-go against Jackson State. He needs to ramp up and gel with the current players, as he didn’t get action in the exhibition game.
While I want to see Stojakovic on the court, I think it is probably best that Illinois rest him another game or two. There is no reason to put him in a game that we should win by double digits with or without him.
Massive games are on the horizon for the Illinois basketball program
Getting Stojakovic and Petrovic healthy should be priority No. 1 for Underwood right now. Those two are key cogs in making this Illinois basketball program go.
I am not worried about the first two games of the season. Jackson State shouldn’t be a problem on Monday, and then Illinois comes back on Friday and takes on Florida Gulf Coast. Those should be two easy wins with a depleted roster.
My hope is that both Stojakovic and Petrovic are back healthy for Tuesday, November 11. That is when the season really starts.
Illinois welcomes the No. 10 team in the nation, the Texas Tech Red Raiders. This is a welcome to the show moment for the Illini. It will be a gauge of where we are as a program. Getting those two huge pieces back for this game will give us a shot at knocking off a top-10 team. Let’s hope we are nearly fully healthy when this game rolls around.