Basketball
Illinois basketball must bring these non-negotiables to March Madness
The Illini are running out of time to make this season something special
Illinois basketball lost its first game of the 2026 Big Ten Tournament 91-88 vs the Wisconsin Badgers. It was Deja Vu for the Illini as they were once again unable to maintain a double-digit lead vs the Badgers and lost in painful fashion. The Illini simply let its foot off the gas and have made a habit of doing so ever since an impressive 12-game winning streak in January and February. With only one guaranteed game, time is running out for this team, and they need to figure these things out before they hit the court for March Madness.
Mental Toughness
Outside of Keaton Wagler and David Mirkovic, Illinois basketball has a group of veterans on its roster. As good as Wagler and Mirkovic have been, teams should not have to rely on true freshmen to lead the team. In today’s loss to Wisconsin, Kylan Boswell had to sit early with two quick fouls and ended up playing 17 minutes. Without Boswell on the floor, the Illini looked flat and became unfocused when up 15 points. Later on, the Illini shot 3-8 from the free throw line in the second half.
The Illini held 15-point leads on two different occasions in this game. They got casual and simply stopped playing smart basketball, which signifies that this team lacks toughness and mental fortitude
Focus on getting downhill
Illinois basketball plays to the analytics; however, this past month has shown some major flaws. Tomislav Ivisic and Zvonimir Ivisic are in major shooting slumps, which have allowed teams to lock into the paint and clog the lane for Keaton Wagler, Kylan Boswell, and Andrej Stojakovic. Because they miss so many threes, teams, specifically with good guard play, get out and run and eat the Illini alive.
Illinois has some size at all positions; it’s time they use that. Time is running out for both Ivisic twins to get out of their shooting slump. They both combined to shoot 2-10 from the three-point line vs Wisconsin.
Illinois has to focus on getting Keaton Wagler, Kylan Boswell, and Andrej Stojakovic downhill. That should create rim pressure and ease the Illini’s shooting woes.
The Veterans can’t go out like this
Simply put, Kylan Boswell and Tomislav Ivisic cannot go out like this. Boswell has averaged 7.3 points per game in his last three games. Simply put, the Illini need more from their senior leader. When Kylan Boswell is aggressive and getting downhill, this team becomes very difficult to beat. The Illini coaching staff needs to get Boswell going downhill and attacking the glass so that they can get some rim pressure. With how much Boswell has put into becoming successful in his hometown, it would be a major disappointment to lose early in the NCAA Tournament
Tomislav Ivisic was supposed to be this team’s best player and vocal leader. For most of this season, however, Ivisic has looked like a shell of his former self and has made 3 of his last 25 three-point attempts. On top of that, he has only gotten double-digit rebounds just three times this season. It has been a disappointing second season for Ivisic, but his lack of motor and engagement has been extremely worrisome.
Simply put, Illinois basketball has not given fans much reason for any kind of confidence heading into March Madness.