Illinois basketball is finally back, and Saturday’s exhibition at Cincinnati offers the first real look at what this new group might become. The catch: you won’t be able to watch it on TV. Illinois’ next two exhibitions, against Baylor and UIC, will be on Big Ten Plus, but this one won’t be available.
Still, there’s plenty to keep an eye on when the Illini take the floor.
One obvious angle is how Brad Underwood uses his bench. Exhibition games tend to open the door for heavy rotation, and Underwood made it clear Illinois plans to go deep.
It would be a surprise if every player on the roster didn’t see the court at some point. That means the freshmen should all get a real look, and the first one off the bench could say something about how the staff views the group.
It could be any of them, but Ethan Brown is the guess here.
Another big question is tempo. Coaches and players have talked about Illinois playing faster in 2026-27, and Underwood’s teams have always leaned that way.
Last season, though, the Illini spent far too much time in slow gear. Keaton Wagler is gone, and the hope is that sluggish feel disappears with him.
There are reasons to think the pace can pick up. Quentin Coleman can run, Stefan Vaaks played in an up-tempo system at Providence last season, Andrej Stojakovic likes to get out in the open floor, and Zvonimir Ivisic has the tools to be a strong rim runner.
The pieces are there. The bigger question is whether Underwood will really let them play loose, especially with an offense that wasn’t always comfortable in the halfcourt.
Saturday should give at least a first glimpse of how this offense wants to look, even if the box score ends up doing most of the talking.
Vaaks, though, is the most intriguing piece of all. His game is easy enough to describe, but harder to project in this setting.
He comes in as a scorer, plain and simple, and there will be moments when that alpha mentality helps Illinois. There may also be times when it creates friction.
That’s because a player like Vaaks has spent a lot of his career making the kind of decisions that maximize his own scoring on teams that needed him to carry the load. An off-the-bounce three may have been the best shot available then. It even made sense for him to take that kind of look; he led the Big East in three-point percentage in 2025-26.
That won’t automatically translate the same way at Illinois. The challenge is whether those habits shift quickly, or at all, when the talent around him changes. And beyond the shot-making, there’s the rest of the package: can Vaaks defend, can he rebound, and just as importantly, is he willing to do both?
Saturday won’t answer every one of those questions. But it should give Illinois a first feel for the answers.
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Charlie Bakers announcement only deepened the uncertainty surrounding Collins and Cincinnati, as the NCAA is pushing back against an Ohio executive order that granted eligibility to all university athletes in the Class of 2022. For the Bearcats, the practical question is whether Collins will be available this season, but the larger fight now has the feel of a broader test of how far the NCAA can enforce its eligibility rules when state policy and court rulings are pulling in the other direction. [Read more 🡒]
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For Cincinnati, the most obvious path is on the ground, where GiBran Payne figures to be central against a Mountaineers defense that has had trouble keeping runners in check. West Virginia has given up steady yardage and has also been vulnerable near the goal line, so the Bearcats will have reason to keep leaning into that part of the game plan and see whether they can turn a tough road spot into a conference statement. [Read more 🡒]
Cincinnati Faces An Early Big 12 Test It Can't Afford To Flunk
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For Cincinnati, the bigger concern is getting its offense back on track after managing just 7 points in the setback to Arizona. West Virginia, meanwhile, is desperate to avoid digging itself deeper after an 0-3 start in league play, and that makes this a tricky spot for a UC team that cannot afford to let a winnable game slip away. The Bearcats do not need perfection in Morgantown, but they do need a cleaner, more confident showing if they want to leave with momentum still intact. [Read more 🡒]