CHAMPAIGN — Illinois men’s basketball coach Brad Underwood found the politically correct way to describe his team’s performance on Monday night.
“We were just doo-doo,’’ said Underwood after the 13th-rated Fighting Illini defeated the Texas-Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros 87-73 at the State Farm Center.
“I thought they played harder than we did tonight with a little more focus,’’ Underwood added. “We found a way to win on a night when we didn’t shoot the ball very well, and on a night that we weren’t really sharp.’’
But, it was a 14-point victory. Isn’t that good enough?
Not when Underwood looks ahead on his schedule. Up next for Illinois is a Friday morning game with the fifth-rated Connecticut Huskies at Madison Square Garden. That’s followed by games against Tennessee, rated No. 17, Big Ten games against Ohio State and Nebraska and then the Braggin’ Rights game with Missouri.
“I think that’s why we’ve done this,’’ said Underwood, referring to a preseason scrimmage with Florida and then games with Texas Tech and Alabama in the first seven of the season. “All of them we’re very, very different to get ready for this stretch.
“We have an opportunity to stack some positives with developing the bench and getting some guys going off of injuries. We are going to find out if we are ready.’’
Junior Andrej Stojakovic continues to impress on the offensive end for Illinois (6-1) with a game-high 24 points. It was his third straight 20-point game for the Fighting Illini and his fourth in five games.
Freshman guard Mihalio Petrovic, playing just his third-ever collegiate game, finished with a career-best 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting to go along four assists. Also reaching double figures for Illinois on Monday was freshman David Mirkovic along with twin brothers Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic. All three had 10 points for the Illini, who have scored 80 or more points in all seven of its games this season. The last Illinois team to accomplish that feat was the 1988-89 Flyin’ Illini squad that opened with 12 consecutive games of 80 or more points.
“I thought Mihalio (Petrovic) and Z (Ivisic) gave us a great, great lift,’’ Underwood said.
UTRGV (2-4) was led in scoring by Kye Dickson with 21, while Filip Brankovic, a teammate of Petrovic in Serbia, had 15.
On Tuesday, Illinois quickly transitioned into preparation for UConn. The Huskies defeated the Illini 77-52 in the 2024 East Region Finals in Boston.
“Excited to start the series with UConn,’’ Underwood said. “ We get an opportunity to see one of the best teams in the country, and a hostile environment with their crowd being so close.’’
Friday’s game will be fourth straight season that Illinois has appeared at Madison Square Garden in New York. A year ago, Duke beat Illinois 110-67 at the Garden after Illini wins over Florida Atlantic (98-89) during the 2023-24 season and Texas (85-78) in the 2022-23 season.
“We are always striving for these opportunities,’’ Underwood said. “We get to play in the best known arena in the world.
“This is a great opportunity to play in the Garden. Great opportunity for us to continue to grow.’’