Illinois put six players in double figures during a 105-96 exhibition win over Cincinnati on Saturday at Fifth Third Arena, an early sign of the scoring balance head coach Brad Underwood may have available this season. The game does not settle who starts or closes games once the regular season begins, but it offers the first real data point on Illinois basketball scoring depth before the Illini open their actual schedule.
Andrej Stojakovic led all scorers with 20 points. Stefan Vaaks, a transfer from Providence, added 19 off the bench. Tomislav Ivisic scored 13, while freshman guards Ethan Brown and Quentin Coleman put up 15 and 14 points, respectively. That spread of scoring, across a returning piece, a transfer and two first-year players, is the central story of the exhibition.
Six Scorers In Double Figures
The headline number from the box score is simple: six Illini scored at least 10 points in a single game. Stojakovic’s team-high 20 came alongside Vaaks’ 19 off the bench, meaning Illinois got its top two scoring outputs from a returning starter and a reserve on the same night. Ivisic’s 13 points rounded out the frontcourt production, giving Underwood three double-digit scorers before even factoring in his backcourt.
That kind of distribution matters because it shows scoring options were not concentrated in one or two players. Six different Illini finding double figures in the same game is the type of balance teams hope to carry into conference play, though one exhibition cannot confirm it will hold.
The Freshman Backcourt Produced Immediately
Brown and Coleman, both freshman guards making their Illini debuts, combined for 29 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Coleman finished with 14 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as a starter. Brown scored 15 points with five rebounds and two assists, also starting.
Underwood’s offense “click[ed] with two freshmen guards, Brown and Coleman, playing really good basketball,” according to 247Sports. Combined, the pair nearly matched Stojakovic and Vaaks’ scoring output while also contributing double-digit assist and rebound totals, a line that suggests the backcourt could be a source of offense beyond just scoring if it translates to live competition.
Efficiency Backed Up The Volume
Illinois scored at a rate of 1.313 points per possession while running 80 possessions, more than the team played in any game last season, according to 247Sports. The Illini also made 14 of 33 three-point attempts. That pace and efficiency combination helps explain how six players found double figures in the same contest: more possessions simply created more scoring chances to distribute.
Illinois also turned 10 Cincinnati turnovers into 20 points, showing the offense could capitalize when Illinois forced extra possessions against a Bearcats roster that featured 13 newcomers under first-year head coach Jerrod Calhoun.
The Defensive Counterpoint
The scoring depth came with a defensive cost that tempers any conclusions about the team’s overall readiness. Illinois committed 15 turnovers, and Cincinnati scored 15 points off those giveaways, nearly matching what Illinois generated off Cincinnati’s mistakes. The Illini also allowed 12 offensive rebounds and 12 second-chance points despite outrebounding Cincinnati 39-32 overall.
Underwood’s own assessment, per 247Sports, framed the game as exactly what he wanted from an evaluation standpoint: “This is about everything Underwood could’ve wanted in a game in which he played 12 players at least five minutes. He got a look at a lot of different lineups and a lot of different players. He saw an offense click with two freshmen guards, Brown and Coleman, playing really good basketball.
Yet, the Illini have a lot to correct defensively, especially with communication and rebounding.” That quote makes clear the scoring numbers came alongside acknowledged defensive issues, particularly communication and rebounding, that the exhibition exposed rather than resolved.
What Was Missing From The Picture
David Mirkovic, described as Illinois’ star forward, sat out while recovering from a foot injury. His absence means the six-man scoring distribution came without one of the roster’s most important pieces on the floor, leaving an open question about how the rotation and scoring balance shift once he returns.
Underwood used the exhibition to play 12 players for at least five minutes apiece, a deliberate approach to testing lineups and personnel in a road environment rather than settling a rotation. That structure explains why six players reaching double figures reflects opportunity as much as it reflects a settled hierarchy of scoring options.
What To Watch Next
How Illinois’ scoring balance looks once Mirkovic returns from his foot injury will be an early test of whether Saturday’s distribution holds. The defensive issues Underwood flagged, particularly rebounding and communication, give a specific area to track as Illinois moves from exhibition play into its regular-season schedule. The turnover margin, with Illinois giving up 15 points off its own 15 turnovers, is another number worth revisiting against regular-season opponents who may convert those chances more consistently than a Cincinnati roster built around 13 newcomers.
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