KenPom Rewards Illinois' Elite Defense With Boost After Indiana Win

It has been the same story all season long: Illinois’ offense is historically great – but the defense is incapable of landing on even a semblance of consistency.

To be fair, the absence of guard Kylan Boswell – perhaps the most valuable defender on the roster – has made life difficult on that end. The recent loss of wing Andrej Stojakovic has only exacerbated the problem. But, suddenly, the Illini are trending in the right direction.

Illinois climbs in KenPom after Indiana win

Feb 1, 2026; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood walks onto the court before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

After Illinois surrendered 92 points to Wisconsin, which came on the heels of Michigan State hanging 85 on the Illini (both games did go into overtime), it’s safe to say the analytics were losing faith in Illinois' defense. KenPom had dropped it to No. 31 nationally.

Then, on Sunday, Illinois was able to get Boswell – who had been sidelined since mid-January because of a fractured hand – back on the floor. The result? An elite defensive showing from the Illini.

Illinois held Indiana to just 40.8 percent shooting from the field and 25.0 percent from deep. Star guard Lamar Wilkerson may have gone for 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting, but almost none of it came easy – thanks to Boswell.

In his first game back in action, Boswell checked Wilkerson, chasing him all over the floor and forcing Wilkerson to work excruciatingly hard just to get shots off. The efficiency of Wilkerson (57.1 percent from the field) was a reflection of his shot-making ability.

The rest of the Illini – ranging from freshman forward David Mirkovic to coach Brad Underwood (who tossed a nice changeup into the mix) – also did their part, and Illinois suffocated Indiana. The Hoosiers scored just 20 points in the second half, and their 51 points marked a season low.

After Sunday’s outing, Illinois appears to have (somewhat) worked itself back into the good graces of the KenPom metric, as Underwood’s unit jumped to No. 28 in defense.

Especially this late in the season, it’s difficult to make much of a leap in the analytics in just one game. But even that three-spot climb in defensive efficiency was enough to push the Illini two overall spots, as they crept up from No. 7 to tie Florida for No. 5 overall in the country. (Both squads have an identical adjusted efficiency of 32.97 as of Monday morning.)

The next step (in case you hadn’t guessed it already): consistency. The Illini have shown a handful of times that they’re capable of being one of the best defensive units in the country. But they haven’t done it on a night-to-night basis. And with a national title as the goal, Illinois needs to change that moving forward, or a deep run in March – which requires metronome-like steadiness on both ends – is going to be a tall task.