Illinois Basketball's Biggest Strength in 2025-26 May Surprise You

Illinois basketball has come to be characterized by skill and shooting. The Illini have sweet-passing big men (David Mirkovic and Tomislav Ivisic, to name two) and a roster filled to the brim with long-distance marksmen. Yet despite boasting few high-flying threats – especially in the front court – Illinois’ best team ability may be an unexpected one: rebounding.

Following the departure of Morez Johnson Jr. – arguably the best rebounder in the nation – there were zero expectations of the Illini maintaining their dominance on the boards. A year ago, Illinois led the country in rebounds per game, but this season's roster – aside from its advantage of positional size – didn’t seem ready to match last season’s production in that category.

But after one game – albeit against a smaller and less athletic opponent, though with the added perspective of an exhibition match and a scrimmage – the Illini appear capable of again pushing for the Division I rebounding throne.

Could rebounding be Illinois' biggest strength?

Feb 25, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes forward Chris Tadjo (34) and Illinois Fighting Illini forward Ben Humrichous (3) battle for position during the second half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

“Obviously we’re skilled, obviously we can shoot – everyone across the board – and that’s going to be something that we’re going to be able to do great things with," forward Ben Humrichous said after Monday's game. "But it always comes back down to rebounding [on] both sides of the basketball.

“It’s something we’re going to pride ourselves in. Coach Underwood made a big emphasis all week … that rebounding is where winning happens. And so whether it was film after our last competition or out on the court through practice, rebounding is what’s going to be important for all aspects of the game."

Clearly, after drawing the ire of Underwood in the Florida scrimmage, the Illini received the message for the Jackson State game. As a team, Illinois outrebounded the Tigers by a mind-blowing number: 61 to 19.

Eight Illini had four or more rebounds, and, unsurprisingly, Mirkovic paced the team with 14. To say Underwood was instantly made a true believer by Illinois’ performance on the glass would perhaps be an overstatement. But he was, at the very least, satisfied.

“Our effort on the glass, on both sides, was really good," he said. "I thought we were dominant there. I told the team after the game, ‘if you don’t have all those balls go in, how are we going to win?’ And we do that with our rebounding."

AJ Redd with the EFFORT play to keep the ball alive!

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/ZlhsTbM3hJ
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) November 4, 2025

As for whether it was a point of emphasis over the last week of practice, the answer would be a hard yes.

"It's all I've talked about," Underwood said. "We can run anything we want to run. We can do whatever we want to do, but if we don't rebound. ... And that's been the emphasis of practice. There's been multiple drills throughout practices, and rebounding, obviously, we're going to face much more size and much more athleticism in frontcourts, but the effort has to be there. And again, I tried to [stress] it in the second half tonight if you didn't go to the boards. I took David out really quick, I took Tomi out really quick, because they didn't go. And those are things with our depth that they're going to have to learn is, we're going to go, it's how you win games, in my opinion, when that ball is not going in as frequently as it did tonight."