Illinois Brings Its Exhibition Work Home Against Baylor

CHAMPAIGN — Illinois brings its preseason schedule to State Farm Center on Friday, October 23, when Baylor visits for a 7 p.m. Central exhibition. The game is scheduled to stream on B1G+ and gives the Illini a home setting for another competitive evaluation before games begin counting toward their regular-season record.

Illinois enters ranked No. 3 in both major preseason polls, according to its official game preview. That attention raises expectations, but Friday’s immediate value is practical: another opponent, another set of possessions and another opportunity to examine how returning players and new arrivals fit together under Brad Underwood. He is beginning his 10th season leading the program.

The Illini already have one high-scoring exhibition behind them. They beat Cincinnati 105–96 on October 17. Baylor arrives with a significant preseason result of its own, an 82–76 overtime victory over No. 1 Florida. Exhibition scores offer context for the matchup while leaving the teams’ regular-season records untouched.

Illinois’ returning group includes David Mirkovic, whose previous season produced averages of 13.3 points, eight rebounds and 2.6 assists. Those are 2025–26 figures, a measure of his established role rather than a claim about this season’s production. The roster also includes Andrej Stojakovic and brothers Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic, alongside transfer Stefan Vaaks.

The mix gives Illinois several combinations to evaluate. A preseason home game can expose whether an effective offensive sequence travels across different lineups, and whether a team can follow a scoring possession with a disciplined defensive one. The Cincinnati result established that Illinois could produce points in its first exhibition; Baylor supplies a different opponent against which to examine the broader performance.

Friday’s game also gives the home crowd its first exhibition look at this version of Illinois. The venue photograph with this story shows State Farm Center during a March 2020 game. It provides historical setting and does not depict the current roster or Friday’s matchup.

Tipoff is listed for 7 p.m. Central. The result will belong to the preseason, with the more lasting questions centered on how Illinois prepares its rotations and collective execution for the schedule ahead.