Overview
- Andrej Stojaković scored 23 points on 11-of-16 shooting and blocked Christian Anderson’s potential tying three in the final seconds to secure the win.
- Kylan Boswell added 22 points and reached 1,000 career points, pacing Illinois through key stretches of the first half and closing minutes.
- Texas Tech erased a 45–32 halftime deficit by making its first 12 shots of the second half, led by JT Toppin’s 35 points and 11 rebounds, before Illinois reclaimed control.
- Illinois held decisive edges at the stripe and in transition, going 16-for-23 on free throws to Texas Tech’s 3-for-4 and turning 13 Red Raider turnovers into 29 points.
- Both sides were shorthanded, with Texas Tech missing Luke Bamgboye and Josiah Moseley and Illinois without Tomislav Ivišić and Mihailo Petrović, in the programs’ first-ever meeting that moved the Illini to 3–0 and Tech to 2–1.