Three Overreactions to Illinois Basketball's Exhibition Loss to Baylor

Preseason games rarely earn the label, but Illinois lost a heartbreaker on Friday in Champaign against Baylor. A furious Illini comeback attempt came up just short as they they fell 95-91 against the Bears. Exhibition games rarely have the level of intensity we saw – specifically that in the second half – which made the stakes feel higher.

So why not lean into that all-or-nothing vibe? Here are three overreactions from Illinois’ loss:

3 overreactions after Illinois basketball falls to Baylor

Illinois’ defense is a major concern

Exhibition this, exhibition that. We’ll be the first to say exhibition games mean a whole lot of nada. But 63 points in a half is 63 points in a half. And the Illini don’t have an excuse this time. They did scout. And the result:

“We’ve had games where we made zero scouting report mistakes,” Brad Underwood said in his postgame press conference. “We’re making 20 a half.” He also said the defensive communication was non-existent.

And even if he didn’t say this, we will: The on-ball defense was also superficial at best (save for freshman Lincoln Williams, who was spectacular in that facet).

Why it’s an overreaction

First and foremost, Baylor is really good. The Bears just beat preseason No. 1 Florida a few days ago. Baylor should be a preseason top-25 team. Its guards are exceptionally gifted. They hit the boards really hard. They deserve credit.

Also, Illinois has a ton of freshmen. David Mirkovic was out. Andrej Stojakovic left the game, as did both of the Ivisic twins. The Illini were on their last legs in the second half, and they gave up just 32 points and zero threes (compared to a whopping 11 in the first half).

The Illini didn’t play hard against Baylor

In the first half alone, Baylor snagged 12 offensive rebounds. Illinois had 15 total rebounds as a team during that span. Even by the end of the game, the Illini had fewer defensive rebounds (17) than the Bears had offensive. boards (22). That means when a Baylor shot went up, the Bears got the rebound a mind-boggling 56.4 percent of the time.

For context, Illinois, which was No. 3 in offensive rebounding rate in 2025-26, reeled in 39.2 percent of its misses last season.

Worse, the Illini too often showed no pride in their defense. Sure, there were scouting report blunders and communication woes – but there was also a complete and utter lack of urgency, especially in the first half.

Why it’s an overreaction

It’s not an overreaction at all if the idea is for exhibition games to prepare a team for the real thing. The Illini's effort in the first 20 minutes was, put simply, unacceptable. But it was a tale of two halves. One imagines Underwood lightning into his guys at halftime, and Illinois was indeed a different unit in the second half.

The Illini still left much to be desired on the boards – remember, both Ivisic twins and Mirkovic were inactive by then – but the defensive intensity was off the charts. 

Williams was truly fantastic. At one point, he picked up full court, got a poke and dove on the ball – a play that summed up his entire night. Coleman never dropped down from fifth gear. And Jason Jakstys also laid it all on the line. 

By the second half, it no longer felt at all like an exhibition game – which is exactly what the Illini should want. Because that means their personnel are invested, that when they get punched in the mouth – as Underwood loves to describe it – they're going to punch back.

Andrej Stojakovic’s rim-attacking aggression may be problematic

Before Andrej Stojakovic's injury – for which Underwood had no update in the postgame – he was having a miserable night. He finished 4-for-13 for 15 points. He added six rebounds and turned the ball over four times.

Fifteen points and six rebounds in 21 minutes sounds productive enough, but Stojakovic was a mess Friday. There’s no other way to put it.

The Illini want to play fast – that much is obvious. But it seems as though Stojakovic has taken that to mean he can just toss up wild, running shots less than 10 seconds into the shot clock without a single pass in a possession – and not just occasionally. 

Stojakovic was dominant against Cincinnati. With his physical traits, he is one of the best slashers in the country. But when a team is loading up multiple bodies to stop the drive, even a slasher passes the ball. It’s a simple game. Attract multiple defenders, look to where the help came from, dish to an open teammate.

Stojakovic is too experienced and is surrounded by too much talent to take the contested shots he heaved up Friday night.

Why it’s an overreaction

This one is tough. Again, Illinois clearly wants to go. Stojakovic is the guy to help them do that. And he’s so good at getting to the rack because of his refusal to be stopped, and because of his borderline irrational confidence that no one – and even multiple someones – can’t stop him.

Underwood and his staff need to nudge Stojakovic in the other direction, though. He should always be driving to score (rather than driving to draw help and pass). But passing can’t be a desperate, if-all-else-fails option. Whenever Stojakovic encounters multiple bodies, he needs to spray it out. Simple as that.