Live Game Thread, Updates for Illinois Basketball vs. UIC Exhibition

Keep track of the Illinois vs. UIC basketball score and action in Wednesday's exhibition matchup in Champaign with our periodic game updates

Illinois guard Stefan Vaaks (7) gets fired up after making a play in the Illini's 95-91 loss to Baylor on Friday, Oct. 23, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. | University of Illinois

Illinois basketball will host UIC in an exhibition matchup Wednesday (7 p.m. CT, B1G+) at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. The Illini are 1-1 entering the last of their three exhibition games ahead of the 2026-27 regular season, having knocked off Cincinnati on the road and seen a furious comeback fall just short against Baylor last Friday.

Several projected starters will be missing from the Illinois lineup at tip off against the Flames, who are coming off a 19-16 season, a run to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game and an appearance in the NIT.

Preseason All-American forward David Mirkovic remains out as he recovers from offseason foot surgery, and swingman Andrej Stojakovic and forward Zvonimi Ivisic are on the shelf (mostly as a precaution) after both, separately, banged their heads on the court and exited the Baylor game early.

UIC coach Rob Eshan has built a roster featuring long, athletic swing players, allowing the Flames to attack one-on-one mismatches on offense and be switchy on defense. They will come up short – quite literally – against an Illini crew that has great size even in the absence of Ivisic (7-foot-3) and Mirkovic (6-foot-9), but they compete hard and are sneaky-effective on the glass.

Somewhat oddly, it may be that Illinois has the most to fear from UIC guard Ahmad Henderson II, a 5-foot-9, 144-pounder. In a reserve role, Henderson came on strong late last season, scoring 13 points off the bench against Northern Iowa in that MVC Tournament championship game. He is the sort of waterbug player who has troubled the Illini D dating back to last season, and in the absence of Stojakovic – Illinois' best individual backcourt defender – coach Brad Underwood may have difficulty landing on a lineup combination that can prevent Henderson (and others) from creating havoc.

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Projected starting lineups

Illinois

G: Quentin Coleman
G: Ethan Brown
G: Jake Davis
F: Jason Jakstys
C: Tomislav Ivisic

UIC

G: Ahmad Henderson II
G: Andy Johnson
G: Mekhi Lowery
F: Jayce Nathaiel
C: Lucas Scroggins

Illinois vs. UIC live score updates

Follow Illinois on SI's live updates of the action from Illinois vs. UIC at the State Farm Center after Wednesday's game begins.