In its 121 seasons of play, Illinois has never claimed a college basketball national title. The accomplishment has also eluded head coach Brad Underwood, who might have his best chance for March Madness success with star guard Keaton Wagler in 2026.
Illinois is 18-3 at the end of January, a month in which it went a perfect 8-0. The Fighting Illini are tied for second in the Big Ten with a 9-1 conference record with 10 regular season games remaining.
Underwood's team faces a gauntlet to end the year, but it is already as battle-tested as any team in the country. Illinois is 4-3 in seven games against ranked opponents, with wins over Tennessee, Texas Tech, Iowa and Purdue.
Illinois was not always viewed as a serious March Madness contender. Opinions were split on the team when it began the New Year with a 10-3 record, including just 1-1 in the Big Ten. Their outlook only got worse when the Illini lost star point guard Kylan Boswell to a significant hand injury after their Jan. 17 win over Minnesota.
However, Illinois has shockingly not lost a game since losing Boswell. The team has somehow looked even better since the injury, proving to the country how dangerous it can be at full strength.
There is still over a month remaining in the 2025-2026 college basketball regular season, but Illinois is looking its best during Underwood's nine-year tenure.
Keaton Wagler can take over any game
How far Illinois goes in the 2026 March Madness Tournament will all depend on star freshman Keaton Wagler. The former four-star recruit has been Brad Underwood's top offensive threat all year, but he has blossomed into one of the best scorers in the nation over the last month.
Wagler averages 17.7 points per game on the year — 10th in the Big Ten — on 48 percent from the floor and 43.7 percent from three. He reached a completely different level in his final two games in January, dropping 46 points against Purdue and 22 against Washington.
Since Boswell went down, Wagler has become Illinois' makeshift point guard. The change has clearly benefited Wagler's scoring, but he has also grown as a facilitator, averaging 6.7 assists per game in three outings without the senior. Wagler has been one of the best pick-and-roll ballhandlers in the last two weeks, which has elevated teammates Andrej Stojakovic, David Mirkovic and even Ben Humrichous off the bench.
The adjustment has been so smooth will force Underwood to reevaluate his offensive sets once Boswell returns.
Illinois will certainly improve once it gets Boswell back. The senior is not only the Illini's second-leading scorer with 14.3 points per game, but he has been one of the best on-ball defenders in the country for the last three years.
Regardless, if Underwood has learned one thing during his point guard's absence, he now knows he has an elite go-to scorer capable of taking over any game whenever Wagler is on the court. Wagler is almost certainly entering the NBA Draft at the end of the season, giving Illinois a short window to capitalize on his elite talent in March Madness.
Few teams can match Illinois' size
Keaton Wagler's offensive dominance has been a revelation for Illinois in the second half of the year, but the Illini's defense has been its calling card all season. While their perimeter defense has taken a substantial hit without Boswell, few teams have been able to deal with their physicality and depth down low.
Through 21 games, Illinois allows just 68.2 points per game, a top-40 mark in the country. The strength of their defense comes in the paint, where the Illini are a top-25 team in opponent points allowed in the paint and rank 11th in the country in rebounds.
Not many teams can match the size and physicality of David Mirkovic and Tomislav Ivisic, who anchor Illinois' starting frontcourt. Brad Underwood then has the luxury of bringing Ivisic's twin brother, 7-foot-2 Zvonimir Ivisic, off the bench to avoid losing a beat with his second unit. Zvonimir Ivisic leads the team with 2.3 blocks per game in just 16.6 minutes per game.
Illinois brings physicality on both ends of the court, ranking seventh nationally in offensive rebounding and 28th in two-point field goal percentage. All of Underwood's big men can also stretch the floor — Zvonimir Ivisic is the worst shooter of the Illini's frontcourt rotation, hitting from deep at a 34.4 percent clip.
Underwood also values the improvement that junior Ben Humrichous has made in the last year to bolster the Illini's frontcourt depth. Underwood joked that Humrichous “couldn't guard a dead body” as a sophomore, but is now one of the most versatile 3-and-D players on his roster.
The Illini will go as far as Wagler takes them in the postseason, but teams will find it difficult to deal with this frontcourt on both ends of the floor. Illinois has arguably the most well-rounded roster in the country at full strength and will have a deeper March Madness run than any of Underwood's previous teams.
