Joe Lunardi undervaluing big Illinois basketball offseason with first bracketology

I don’t think we will ever see another Illinois basketball offseason like we did a couple of years ago.

Losing all but one player is something not many teams have ever gone through. The Illini not only built a Round of 32 roster from scratch, but Brad Underwood continues to amaze me with his ability to adapt to the ever-changing college landscape.

This offseason was much more calm than last. I braced for mass chaos but that never came. Illinois lost a couple of key players, but everyone was expecting Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley to head to the NBA. Those two were given departures.

Underwood managed to hang on to a lot of talent from the 2024-25 squad. In addition, he filled holes and built the roster out impressively quickly. Despite the solid rebuild, Joe Lunardi of ESPN doesn’t seem to think too highly of what Illinois has done this offseason.

On Monday, Lunardi posted his first 2026 NCAA tournament bracketology. The top overall seed is the Purdue Boilermakers. They return some key players who helped bolster that program last season.

You aren’t going to find Illinois anywhere near that No. 1 seed, though. In fact, Lunardi doesn’t have the Illini in the top-five seeds. He has the Orange and Blue finishing next season as the No. 7 seed, taking on No. 10 Creighton in the first round.

Illinois’ experience heading into next season is getting massively undervalued by Joe Lunardi

There are many things that stand out to me about the first bracketology prediction. One of the main things is that in the second round, we could be taking on Kentucky once again.

It did surprise me a bit that Lunardi had Illinois that low in the seeding, too. The experience we have coming back to the roster is solid. Kylan Boswell is entering year four, and he is an All-Big Ten caliber player who averaged 12.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. His tenacity on the defensive end of the court is going to help carry the Illini in quite a few games.

Tomislav Ivisic was another huge rejoin for the Illini. I thought there was a chance Ivisic would bolt for the NBA after his first year in Champaign. Illinois gets him back after he averaged 13.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game. Ivisic’s team-leading 35.7% from three-point range makes him so dangerous and an invaluable floor stretcher.

Illinois’ offseason additions aren’t just your average players either. We are bringing in experienced talent from all over.

Tomislav’s brother, Zvonimir Ivisic, has played 50 games and started 19 contests between Kentucky and Arkansas. He averages 7.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game the last two seasons. Not to mention, Ivisic can also stretch the floor, as he has a career three-point shooting percentage of 37.6%.

The most recent Underwood addition is Cal’s Andrej Stojakovic, the 6-foot-7 wing who has played 61 games and started 38 contest between Stanford and Cal. This past season, Stojakovic averaged 17.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game with the Bears. Stojakovic is someone who can do a little bit of everything for the Illini. He can score at all levels too, which makes him so valuable to the offense.

Underwood’s two additions from overseas have a ton of experience, too. They are both over across the pond playing in some of the biggest leagues in basketball.

David Mirkovic, the 6-foot-9 Montenegrin, dropped 13.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 40% from three-point range in the Montenegro-Erste Liga for Derby. Meanwhile, Mihailo Petrovic, the 22-year-old point guard, suited up for Mega Superbet in the AdmiralBet ABA League. He dazzled with 14.3 points, 7.3 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting 33.3% from three-point range.

I know that the team will be relatively new to each other, but Illinois has pieces coming back, and we are adding pieces that have experience at a high level. To think that Lunardi has Illinois as a No. 7 seed is wild to me. I truly believe the Illini have a chance to be a top-four seed in the NCAA tournament in 2026.