How To Watch, Game Preview and Game Thread: UCLA Bruins vs. #10 Illinois Fighting Illini
The Bruins will host Illinois for the first time since 1997.
This evening, the UCLA men’s basketball team returns home trying to salvage a berth in the NCAA Tournament when the Bruins face the #10 Illinois Fighting Illini. Tip-off is set for 5 pm and the game will be broadcast on Fox with Tim Brando and Jim Jackson calling the action.
While Illinois under Brad Underwood has made the last five NCAA Tournaments, they have flamed out in the Round of 32 three times with one Elite Eight appearance and a one-and-done in 2023. That could indicate that the Illini may be overrated at #10 right now, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Bruins are going to have their hands full tonight.
Illinois Fighting Illini Starting Five
Underwood will probably start a traditional lineup against the Bruins.
The Illini are led by freshman guard Keaton Wagler. Wagler is averaging 18.1 ppg and he leads the team with 115 assists and 24 steals. He’s also Illinois’ best three-point shooter with a 42.9% three-point percentage. While that’s bad enough, what makes it deadly is the fact that Wagler has taken, and made, more threes than anyone else on the team.
The big question tonight for Illinois has to do with the other starting guard. For most of the season, that starter has been Kylan Boswell, but it could also be Andrej Stojakovic who returned against Southern Cal on Wednesday after missing two games due to an ankle injury. Despite Stojakovic’s return, Boswell still started against the Trojans. Boswell is averaging 13.9 ppg and he’s second on the team in assists with 71. Stojakovic, who could also start at forward, is averaging 14.0 ppg.
The odd man out could be junior forward Jake Davis. Davis moved into when Boswell missed seven games and Stojakovic shifted over to guard. While he’s only averaging 5.7 ppg for the season, he is averaging 8.6 ppg as a starter. He’s been shooting well from outside. Over the last nine games, he’s shooting 43% from three-point range. Still, it may be tough for Underwood to start Davis with Stojakovic available.
The other starting forward will be freshman David Mirkovic. Mirkovic is averaging 13.1 ppg for the season with an average of 14.9 ppg over his last ten games. He’s also the Illini’s leading rebounder with an average of 7.8 rpg.
Illinois’ starting center will be Croatian junior Tomislav Ivisic. If you think you might be seeing double, it’s because his slightly older, by four minutes, and slight taller, by an inch, twin Zvonimir also plays for the Illini. Tomislav has been more productive offensively, averaging 10.5 ppg to Zvonimir’s 6.9 ppg. That scoring difference may be attributable to the fact that Tomislav has made 94 threes this season, though it may also be due to the fact that Tomislav is playing about seven minutes more per game than Zvonimir. Zvonimir should still see plenty of time tonight. He leads the Illini in blocks with 61, more than four times his brother.
Another guy who should see plenty of time off the bench tonight is Ben Humrichous. The grad transfer who played at Evansville last season is averaging 6.0 ppg and is second on the team in blocks with 18.
Analysis
At this point, with UCLA definitely on the bubble, the Bruins need to make the most of any opportunity to beat a ranked team. At the same time, it’s really a question of can this team pull together to do that or is the team on the verge of calling it quits under Mick Cronin for the season. Frankly, it would be hard to disagree with these guys throwing in the towel as Cronin’s antics are getting to be a bit much.
Sending Steven Jamerson to the locker room against the Spartans was uncalled for. He could have easily sat him down on the bench and not sent him back into the game. It would have had the same effect and it wouldn’t have embarrassed his player.
And, it wouldn’t have embarrassed the program the way it did.
After that incident, it’s now a question as to whether this team can use the final five games of the regular season and the ones they play in the Big Ten Tournament to earn an opportunity to play in the Big Dance.
At this point, I’m not expecting much, and I don’t expect a win tonight.
Watch and Listen to the Game With TMB
Today’s game will be broadcast on Fox and streamed on FoxSports.com with Tim Brando and Jim Jackson on the call. Of course, you can opt to listen to Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray on the radio or streamed on uclabruins.com instead. To watch or listen online, just right-click on the links so that you can open up another tab and have it going while you chat in the comments below.
This is your UCLA men’s basketball vs. #10 Illinois Fighting Illini game thread. Here’s how to watch, listen and stream today’s game:
UCLA Men’s Basketball (17-9, 9-6)
Opponent: #10 Illinois Fighting Illini (22-5, 13-3)
Series Record: UCLA leads, 6-5
When: 5:00 pm PT, Saturday, February 21, 2026
Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA
TV: Fox with Tim Brando and Jim Jackson
Live Stream: FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports app
Radio/Audio
Local Radio: KABC AM 790 with Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray
Satellite Radio: Sirius Ch. 161 and XM Ch. 195 (UCLA Call)
Online: uclabruins.com
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Game Notes:
UCLA
Go Bruins!!!
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Looks like Mick hasn’t lost the team.
What a gutty win!!