CHAMPAIGN — As Andrej Stojaković stood on the side of the court at State Farm Center on Tuesday night doing a postgame interview, his Illinois teammates couldn’t resist interjecting.
First, Kylan Boswell grabbed him and yelled into the headset Stojaković was wearing, then Zvonimir Ivišić interrupted with a celebratory shout.
In his second game with the Illini, Stojaković, a Cal transfer, made quite the impression. The junior guard scored a team-high 23 points and had three steals and two blocks — including making a crucial late play — to help lead No. 14 Illinois to an 81-77 victory over No. 11 Texas Tech.
“I was harassing this dude over the summer to come play with me,” Boswell said. “I’m so excited he’s here. It’s nice to see him continue to be confident, be himself. All the work he puts in showed up today.”
After he scored 13 second-half points, Stojaković’s late block helped Illinois seal the win while playing in front of his father, former NBA star Peja Stojaković.
The Illini led by five points after Boswell made a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left. But Boswell was called for a flagrant foul on the next possession following a review, a call he said he was “pissed” about.
LeJuan Watts made both of the free throws, making it a three-point game with 12 seconds to play and Texas Tech with the ball.
But Stojaković swatted down Christian Anderson’s 3-point attempt, and the Illini gained possession. Illinois freshman Keaton Wagler made 1 of 2 free throws with 6 seconds to play for the final score.
“All last year, trailing guards was something the coaches were harping on and being able to get a weakside contest,” Stojaković said. “Bringing that length when guarding smaller and faster guards. I’m not the fastest, but using the length to get through screens and rearview contesting, that’s something I can bring to this team, and that was one of those plays I showed I can do it.”
Illinois’ win was its first against a Top 25 nonconference team at home in the coach Brad Underwood era, and it came in front of a packed house celebrating the promise of a new-look Illini team.
If the Illini’s back-to-back 113-point outings against inferior opponents in their first two games didn’t signal it already, Tuesday night’s game did. From Stojaković’s smooth scoring to Boswell’s steady presence to the versatility and energy of Zvonimir Ivišić, a transfer from Arkansas, this looks like an Illinois team to pay attention to.
Stojaković, who dealt with a knee injury that limited him in the preseason, previously played at Stanford and Cal, and the atmosphere at his new home made an impression on him.
“My first game back was the first time I’ve ever had that many people root for me,” Stojaković said. “Every game in my career has been against me, so it felt really nice. The atmosphere today was amazing. It’s a really good feeling when you have guys that believe in each other so much that you know you can compete with anybody in the country, and it felt very nice to come out with this one.”
Ivišić had 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Boswell scored 22 points and had three assists, but it was his defense that was the center of attention after the game.
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In the second half, as 6-foot-9 forward JT Toppin racked up 24 of his 35 points, Underwood turned to the defense of Boswell, who is listed as 6-foot-2.
“I don’t know if you’ve stood next to Boswell, but he’s a stump and physical and low to the ground, and he’s a really good basketball player,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “He’s tough. He’s competitive. He can get fouled, and he knows how to bait fouls. … It stalled us. We had a harder time getting into action. We improved over the course of it to get to something different. But it did mess with the flow for a few stretches.”
Illinois went into halftime up 45-32 after an 11-2 run to end the half. That included 3-pointers from Ivišić and Boswell and a Stojaković layup as time expired.
But Texas Tech made its first 11 shots of the second half to erase the lead. Toppin had seven of those baskets for 14 points. The Red Raiders’ first miss in the half came with 11 minutes, 58 seconds to play.
But the play of Boswell and Stojaković fueled the Illini down the stretch.
“(Boswell) is a really good two-way player,” Underwood said. “He’s elite defensively, extremely strong. He’s our leader. We follow him. He had a bad turnover late and I have to see the flagrant foul, but he’s our guy. Downhill, open floor, with the shooting we have with our five men, he can be very efficient and put himself in position to be one of the best guards in America.”
The Illinois win was even more impressive because the Illini were playing without 7-foot center Tomislav Ivišić, who is out with a knee injury. Point guard Mihailo Petrović was in uniform for the game but didn’t play as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
Texas Tech 6-foot-11 forward Luke Bamgboye and 6-9 forward Josiah Moseley also didn’t play.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/12/illinois-basketball-defeats-texas-tech/
