Illinois' X-Factor vs. UConn: The Player Who Could Decide the Final Four

The 2025-26 season was up and down for Illinois wing Andrej Stojakovic – until the NCAA Tournament. Before the Big Dance tipped off, Stojakovic, a highly touted transfer from Cal, enjoyed stretches of dominance with the Illini (notably three straight games of 20 or more points early in the season) but also some duds.

How did Stojakovic, a downhill-oriented wing, fit in with this group? That was the question Illinois had been asking itself, and failing to answer, for all of 30-some games.

As a seemingly last-ditch effort, the Illini tried moving Stojakovic into a reserve role. After a 22-point game here and a 21-point, 12-rebound game there, Brad Underwood and his staff elected to stick with Stojakovic coming off the bench – a role he has more than embraced.

Now, in the tournament, Stojakovic is only up. Averaging 15.0 points through four games, Stojakovic is playing his most consistently productive – and efficient (59.5 percent from the field in four tournament games) – basketball.

Matched with that scoring ability – which is predicated on attacking the basket, balancing out Illinois’ perimeter-oriented stars spectacularly – is top-notch defense. On Saturday night vs. UConn (5:09 p.m. CT, TBS), the Illini will need those bucket-getting and -stopping elements to be on full display, while Stojakovic will also need to step it up on the glass.

Why Andrej Stojakovic is Illinois’ X-Factor against UConn in the Final Four

In the first go-round of Illinois-UConn, which took place back in November, freshman guard Keaton Wagler played just 14 minutes and scored three points. That has been a frequently raised anecdote going into this rematch – and deservedly so, considering Wagler is now an All-American.

What has received less attention is that Stojakovic – the Illini’s second-leading scorer – also scored just three points. UConn’s stingy help defense and discipline in gaps shrunk Stojakovic’s driving lanes, and Illinois’ lack of three-point shooting in the game (20.7 percent) didn’t do anything to force the Huskies out of their gaps.

But this is a different Illini team, and a different Stojakovic. He is deftly picking and choosing his driving lanes, and attacking closeouts with unprecedented success. On the other end, he’s locking opponents up.

Andrej Stojakovic off the bench to send Illinois to the Sweet 16:

21 PTS | 7-12 FG | 26 MINS pic.twitter.com/fXbI4Z5ekf
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) March 22, 2026

UConn guard Solo Ball, who scored a team-high 15 points on the Illini back in November, has been mired in a wicked slump from the field (just three for his last 25 from deep), and Illinois will need Stojakovic to ensure that Ball doesn’t suddenly break out Saturday night.

Although Kylan Boswell is a pesky on-ball defender, he isn’t adept at navigating screens and chasing opposing players through an endless stream of bodies (which is why Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz gave him so much trouble in the Elite Eight). Fortunately, Stojakovic is.

Stojakovic may be coming off the bench, but he’s playing starter minutes. So while he won’t be the initial matchup on Ball, Stojakovic still will likely spend more time on Ball than any other Illini.

Stojakovic’s ability to use his length and lateral foot speed to disrupt shot attempts and pursue Ball around the perimeter may be the key factor in Illinois’ defensive success (that and forward David Mirkovic’s ability to survive the off-ball movement of UConn’s Alex Karaban).

And the final piece of the puzzle: rebounding. Illinois, which has dominated teams on the boards through four games, isn’t short on glass cleaners, but Stojakovic (averaging just 3.0 rebounds per game in the tournament) must emerge as one of them in Indianapolis if the Illini want to take the next step into the national title game.