Three Instant Observations From Illinois' 84-65 Win Over Colgate

Glass half full? Half empty? All that really matters is that No. 14 Illinois (4-0) didn't play its best and still handled Colgate 84-65 without a great deal of concern along the way Friday at the State Farm Center in Champaign. But after the Illini looked so sharp in their first three games, is it a sign that they're letting their guard down?

Now would be an inopportune time for that, with No. 8 Alabama in the on-deck circle and Illinois facing its first game away from its home (even if it will be staged at Chicago's United Center, essentially the program's home away from home). With the Illini finally – gradually – beginning to get healthy and roll out similar lineups and rotations from game to game, they should be sharpening up, not slipping.

Let's take a closer look at Friday's Illinois win and share three more observations:

1. Rebounding cures all ills

As dominant as the Illini have been through the first weeks of the season, they have shown a number of stretches of less-than-stellar activity. It could even be argued that, on Friday, they coasted along with their C-game for longer than they flexed their A-game. And yet Illinois put away a very good, sharp-executing mid-major with ease. How?

Rebounding, friends. Like reading, it's fundamental! The Illini have great size across the board, of course, but there's more it than that. They out-rebounded the Raiders 49-29 by crashing hard, bodying up and taking advantage when Colgate ran its zone. Mostly, it's a mentality – and it can cover up a ton of bad basketball. Consider: The Illini shot 37.7 from the field (including under 30 percent from three) and forced just five turnovers ... and won by 19. Twenty-two second-chance points made it possible.

From the rebound to the three!

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— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) November 15, 2025

2. Keaton Wagler has earned the hype

Mea culpa: This writer didn't initially see what all the fuss was about over Keaton Wagler. Sure, the kid could clearly shoot it. And his 6-foot-6 frame was bound to give him some natural advantages. But he is reed-thin. He doesn't blow by defenders so much as kinda float past. The passing gifts that coach Brad Underwood has raved about? Haven't really seen them yet.

But give credit where it's due: By just about any measure, Wagler isn't just playing over initial expectations – he's living up to some pretty considerable recent hype. Against Colgate, Wagler had a seemingly quiet 19 points and six rebounds, shooting just 4-for-11 from the field. But it was an impressive, veteran-like performance: nine free throws on 11 attempts, a couple of threes and only one turnover in 34 minutes. And one play against the Raiders, in which he drove from the wing, jump-stopped, shot-faked and delivered a strong bump to carve out space and kiss one of the glass for an and-one. Truly brilliant stuff from a freshman point guard.

😤 AND-1 😤

Keaton completes the three-point play!

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— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) November 15, 2025

3. Time to figure out the zone

Colgate did the Illini a favor. The Raiders threw a bunch of zone looks at Illinois on Friday and played those schemes well. They frequently locked up the Illini on the perimeter and successfully contested shots several feet outside the line. It won't be the last zone Illinois sees this season – not by a long shot.

The memo to Underwood: Figure out your zone offense. The Illini had some of the right ideas against Colgate. They placed David Mirkovic in the middle of the zone (great) and delivered the ball to him there semi-regularly (decent) but showed almost no movement off the ball, let alone back cuts, screening or overloads (bummer). If the Illini are going to take 60 percent of their shots from behind the arc, shoot under 30 percent on those attempts and otherwise remain stagnant, the zones are going to start coming at them in waves.