Stojaković debuts as Illinois registers beatdown of FGCU

CHAMPAIGN — State Farm Center, during these kinds of games, given the expectations for a No. 17 Illinois program, tends to be in a less-than-full-capacity formation and temper. But on Friday night’s beatdown of Florida Gulf Coast, 113-70, it was the blocks by Zvonimir Ivisic, frenetic flashes from freshman Keaton Wagler, and the occasional energizing dunk that woke up the crowd and ignited the arena.

Illinois’ starting lineup found itself in disarray on Friday night with big man Tomislav Ivišić popping up on the injury report ahead of Friday night’s game against Florida Gulf Coast. As one door closes, the other opens, and this door had another Ivisic’s name stamped on it; Zvonimir, or Big Z, made his first start as an Illini.

Any disarray was cluttered away by a scintillating Illinois start that quickly lit up the scoreboard as the team got off to a 9-0 start. FGCU stood no chance against Illinois; they draped the court with nine fouls through the first 10 minutes of the first half and ended the night with 25 charged fouls.

Kylan Boswell recorded a career high in points, closing the night with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists through 28 minutes. Wagler ran the smoothest operation in his young collegiate career, scoring 22 points on the night, and looked more than good on the court.

Big Z stamped in 16 points, 9 rebounds, and, as if that wasn’t enough, caused chaos with seven blocks.

After an extended wait, Cal transfer Andrej Stojaković made his Illinois debut halfway through the first half and totaled 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists in his first 22 minutes of action.

Illinois was oversized. FGCU was overmatched.

Head coach Brad Underwood’s team seemed to make it a point to protect its paint early, readying for the real challenge when No. 10 Texas Tech comes to Champaign on Tuesday night. And it did so successfully, allowing only 12 points in the paint and getting charged six fouls through the first half.

Around halfway through the second half, the game reached a lull. It was clear that Illinois had this game firmly under control.

In the waning minutes of what they called a “game” on Friday night, Blake Fagbemi, AJ Redd, and Jason Jakstys got a couple of minutes as Stojaković searched for comfort on the court after missing more than eight weeks of practice ahead of the 2025-2026 opening week.

For what it’s worth, Illinois has passed its first two zany tests against teams it should dismantle. And they’ve done so shorthanded with a couple of players with injury designations. A reminder that Illinois awaits to see if Ty Rodgers will make a return this season.

Illinois will make a substantial leap in competition when it takes on No. 10 Texas Tech on Tuesday night.