Three Instant Takeaways From Illinois' Blowout Win Over Long Island

On Saturday, No. 8 Illinois (5-1) faced a tough-as-nails Long Island (3-3) squad led by NBA veteran Rod Strickland. The Illini used a 47-11 run to close out the first half and enter the break with a commanding lead. Although the scoreboard showed a lopsided victory in the home team’s favor at 98-58, the contest – especially in the second half – was more competitive than that number may imply.

Here’s three instant observations from Illinois’ triumph and what it all means moving forward with huge matchups looming ahead:

The Illini have isolation scorers in spades

We have talked about it all season long: Illinois has a laundry list of players that can fill it up. Six separate Illini have already cracked 20 points this season. But there are a handful of teams in the country that boast loads of capable scorers that may be able to score points in a hurry on any given night (perhaps as spot-up shooters, dunker-spot players, etc.). What sets Brad Underwood’s club apart is the amount of isolation bucket-getters it has – and that was once again on display on Saturday.

Wing Andrej Stojakovic filled it up with 20 points – the vast majority of which came on an absolute heater in the second half. Freshman Keaton Wagler had 19 of his own and showed off his fancy footwork and isolation ability throughout the contest. Both David Mirkovic and Tomislav Ivisic went to work on a handful of occasions when given space to operate in the post.

Pull up trey for Keaton!

Subscribe/watch on B1G+ https://t.co/WexJfPhFf1 pic.twitter.com/NWtY7UYGwG
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) November 22, 2025

And we’ve already seen the ability of Kylan Boswell to attack the basket from the perimeter and play bully ball with his back to the basket. Stojakovic and Boswell have stolen the spotlight in late-game situations against high-stakes opponents (Texas Tech and Alabama), but the Illini have endless options when a bucket needs producing out of thin air.

Illinois needs to find consistency and an identity on defense

Nov 22, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Long Island University Sharks guard A.J. Neal, Jr. (10) drives to the basket as Illinois Fighting Illini forward Jake Davis (15) defends during the second half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Perhaps the Illini’s most underrated offseason addition came by way of the coaching carousel, not the transfer portal. The impact of new assistant Camryn Crocker, who is essentially serving in a defensive coordinator role, has been evident through six games.

He seems to have already elevated the ceiling of this Illinois defense – but the floor, too, needs to be pushed to the next level. Too often, the Illini are lackadaisical or simply not on the same page on that end – which showed itself again in the LIU game.

After allowing eight points to the Sharks in less than four minutes, the Illini buckled down and held the visitors to just 11 points in the final 16-plus minutes of the first half. In the second half, Illinois’ defense picked up where it left off, yielding just five points in the first six minutes and change.

absolutely not.

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— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) November 22, 2025

Then, the Illini gave up 35 points over roughly the next 13 minutes. The highs for this defense are extreme, but the lows are equally severe. That is, as you might imagine, a mixed bag. We know what Illinois can accomplish and what the defense may be able to consistently become, but we also have seen firsthand the damage it can cause – notably, Alabama’s Labaron Philon Jr. scoring at will down the stretch of Wednesday's loss for the Illini.

With UConn and Tennessee still ahead, not to mention Big Ten play, Illinois can ill-afford to have those defensive lulls if it is going to win marquee games.

Turnover woes need to be addressed

Nov 22, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood reacts during the second half against the Long Island University Sharks at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Against the Crimson Tide, the Illini had 11 turnovers – five of which came from Stojakovic. Ideally, going against a pesky Sharks defense that entered the game forcing 15.3 turnovers per game, Illinois was going to have a prime opportunity to prove itself and take a step in the right direction in the area of ball protection.

Instead, we saw the Illini cough up the rock 12 times, and get bailed out on countles other near disasters. Twice in the first half, Mihailo Petrovic was forced to dive on the floor after overdribbling into multiple Long Island defenders. On another occasion, Zvonimir Ivisic lost his dribble and it was ultimately called a jump ball.

Wagler got ripped up twice and was fortunate to be saved by the referees the one time, while he lost it the other. Even Boswell got his pocket picked. Once again, those are mistakes that can be brushed past when facing Long Island but will prove to be costly and the difference between a win and a loss against league opponents or any high-major club, for that matter.