Illinois vs. Alabama: Strengths and Struggles for Each Active Illini in the Loss

No. 8 Illinois (4-1) fell to No. 11 Alabama (3-1) by a score of 90-86 in a thriller Wednesday at the United Center in Chicago. Here is a quick assessment of the individual performance of each active Illini (not including Jake Davis, who played just two minutes), including the encouraging signs we saw, along with the discouraging ones.

David Mirkovic

Pro: The 6-foot-9 freshman Mirkovic put up a double-double (10 points and 10 rebounds), while adding four assists (against only one turnover), three steals and a block against one of the best teams in the country – on paper, an outstanding performance for a first-year player.

Con: Almost all of Mirkovic’s production came early in the first half, both on the glass and on the scoreboard. As the game wore on, Mirkovic’s impact dwindled. By the second half, for the first time this year, he was out of sorts and truly looked like a freshman.

Zvonimir Ivisic

Pro: Zvonimir Ivisic connected on a three and showed some grit on the boards … at times.

Con: For most of the game, Big Z shied away from contact, hung out on the perimeter and failed to utilize his size advantage over guards in the post. Defensively, he did little to turn away Alabama’s rim attackers – although, in his defense, the Crimson Tide likely feature the best downhill combo in the country between Labaron Philon Jr. and Aden Holloway.

Keaton Wagler

Pro: Keaton Wagler battled – especially defensively – and even on a down night scored eight points and drew five free throw attempts against the No. 11 team in the nation.

Illinois freshman Keaton Wagler warming up on the court at United Center as the Fighting Illini prepare to take on Alabama. pic.twitter.com/nOYUxwvpXY
— Jacob Myers (@League_Him) November 20, 2025

Con: Similar to Mirkovic, Wagler finally looked like a freshman. His oft-discussed poise and maturity was scarcely seen on Wednesday, and he struggled mightily to get downhill or create in any capacity on offense. But it’s probably for the best: Every freshman – Wagler and Mirkovic included – will inevitably face bumps. It’s better they should come early in the season than late.

Andrej Stojakovic

Pro: The box score speaks for itself. 26 points on 11-for-16 shooting, including two three-pointers. Andrej Stojakovic got downhill at will, threw down one particularly nasty jam and sought out contact at a high rate. Offensively, there wasn’t much more Stojakovic could have done, except …

ANDREJ STOJAKOVIC 😱 OH MY! @IlliniMBB pic.twitter.com/6vE7isyKbP
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) November 20, 2025

Con: Take care of the ball. Accounting for five of Illinois’ 11 team turnovers, Stojakovic was too careless with the rock. As a high-usage player, he is bound to turn over the ball more often than a spot-up shooter – but five turnovers is simply inexcusable. The 2-for-5 showing from the free-throw line certainly didn’t help either, but you can’t fault a player for poor shooting at the charity stripe (unless it becomes a pattern). Sometimes it’s just one of those nights.

Kylan Boswell

Pro: Where do we start? How about with his seven assists and one turnover? Or 22 points? What about his tremendous defense? Kylan Boswell truly did it all against the Crimson Tide, getting to the rack, facilitating for his teammates and ballhawking on the other side of the floor.

And-1 Kylan Boswell 💪 @IlliniMBB

📺: FS1 pic.twitter.com/bF9jAmD2iJ
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) November 20, 2025

Con: Sure, his 0-for-4 showing from deep hurt the Illini a bit, but players miss shots. Boswell can’t shoot over 50 percent from long range every night. His foul trouble, however, is well within his control. Illinois fans would surely argue that the majority of the calls against Boswell were all ball – a notion Boswell would likely second – but all that matters is what the ref calls. There's an old hoops adage: It’s not about what is a foul, it’s about what looks like a foul. Boswell, a fourth-year veteran, must take that into account moving forward, reach less and be a bit more conservative in his actions on digs.

Ben Humrichous

Pro: Somehow, Ben Humrichous finished 3-for-8 from long range, but he still missed far too many open looks for a go-to shooter – especially when the Illini needed them the most (during a drought at the midpoint of the second half). That said, 3-for-8 comes out to 37.5 percent, a percentage Underwood won't turn down.

Ben Humrichous tongue out celly.

Had to feel good for one to go down after starting 0-5 from the field, this might have actually been the least open of some really good looks he had in the first half. pic.twitter.com/yGq4kbQQ7K
— Glenn Kinley (@glenn_kinley) November 20, 2025

Defensively, Humrichous’ development since the start of 2024-25 may need to be studied – not to mention his work on the boards. The 6-foot-9 forward has blossomed into a true three-and-D weapon, and is a plus asset on defense and the glass. He is almost always well-positioned, takes advantage of his size and relative athleticism and, most importantly, plays with all-out effort.

Con: There isn’t much. Again, you have to live with the results of your best shooters taking good shots. The Illini certainly would’ve preferred if Humrichous could have canned a few of those much-needed threes before the game was practically over, but the shots just don’t always fall.

Tomislav Ivisic

Pro: It’s only up from here. Ideally, Tomislav Ivisic's knee is fully healed and his conditioning is the lone blockade between where he's at and 100 percent. (Also, he hit a three.)

Con: Rebounding, defense, turnovers – to be candid, pretty much all of it. But that's not on Ivisic. He wasn’t ready, and he shouldn’t have been active. That call falls on coach Brad Underwood.

Mihailo Petrovic

Pro: In his 12 minutes, Mihailo Petrovic registered five assists and quickly showed enough to make us wonder if he's the best passer to don the orange and blue since … who knows? Once fully healthy and conditioned, Petrovic is clearly going to be every bit of the tempo-pushing, dime-dropping presence Underwood has talked him up to be.

Mihailo Petrovic first points as an #Illini, and the place went nuts.

He promptly pointed to the bench - wonder if he told them that was coming. pic.twitter.com/QJS4WxMLSf
— Glenn Kinley (@glenn_kinley) November 20, 2025

Con: Petrovic was an alarming minus-16 in his minutes on the floor. Although no one would have guessed his plus/minus was that abysmal, his inability to rebound was quite apparent – and it led to a handful of second-chance points for the Crimson Tide.