CHAMPAIGN — As Andrej Stojaković stood on the side of the court Tuesday night at the State Farm Center while doing a postgame interview, his Illinois teammates couldn’t resist interjecting.
First Kylan Boswell grabbed him and yelled into the headset Stojaković was wearing, then Zvonimir Ivišić interrupted with a celebratory shout.
In his second game with the Illini, Stojaković made quite the impression. The junior guard, who transferred from Cal, scored a team-high 23 points and had three steals and two blocks — including a crucial late play — to help lead No. 14 Illinois to an 81-77 victory over No. 11 Texas Tech.
“I was harassing this dude over the summer to come play with me,” Boswell said. “I’m so excited he’s here. It’s nice to see him continue to be confident, be himself. All the work he puts in showed up today.”
After he scored 13 second-half points, Stojaković’s late block helped Illinois seal the win in front of his father, former NBA star Peja Stojaković.
The Illini led by five after Boswell made a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left. But Boswell was called for a flagrant foul on the next possession after a review, a call he said he was “pissed” about.
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LeJuan Watts made both free throws, and Texas Tech had the ball down three with 12 seconds to play.
But Stojaković swatted down Christian Anderson’s 3-point attempt, and the Illini gained possession. Illinois freshman Keaton Wagler made 1 of 2 free throws with six seconds to play for the final score.
“All last year, trailing guards was something the coaches were harping on and being able to get a weak-side contest,” Stojaković said. “Bringing that length when guarding smaller and faster guards.
“I’m not the fastest, but using the length to get through screens and rearview contesting, that’s something I can bring to this team, and that was one of those plays I showed I can do it.”
It was Illinois’ first home win against a Top 25 nonconference opponent in the Brad Underwood era, and it came in front of a packed house celebrating the promise of a new-look Illini team.
If the Illini’s back-to-back 113-point outings against inferior opponents in their first two games didn’t signal it already, Tuesday night’s game did. From Stojaković’s smooth scoring to Boswell’s steady presence to the versatility and energy of Ivišić, a transfer from Arkansas, this looks like an Illinois team to pay attention to.
Stojaković, who dealt with a knee injury that limited him in the preseason and kept him out of the season opener, previously played at Stanford and Cal, and the atmosphere at his new home made an impression.
“My first game back was the first time I’ve ever had that many people root for me,” Stojaković said. “Every game in my career has been against me, so it felt really nice.
“The atmosphere today was amazing. It’s a really good feeling when you have guys that believe in each other so much that you know you can compete with anybody in the country, and it felt very nice to come out with this one.”
Ivišić had 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Boswell scored 22 points and had three assists, but it was his defense that was the center of attention after the game.
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The Illini held Anderson to 4-for-12 shooting, including 0-for-6 from 3-point range. As 6-foot-9 forward JT Toppin racked up 24 of his 35 points in the second half, Underwood enlisted the defensive help of Boswell, who is listed at 6-2.
“I don’t know if you’ve stood next to Boswell, but he’s a stump and physical and low to the ground and he’s a really good basketball player,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “He’s tough. He’s competitive. He can get fouled, and he knows how to bait fouls.
“It stalled us. We had a harder time getting into action. We improved over the course of it to get to something different. But it did mess with the flow for a few stretches.”
Illinois went into halftime up 45-32 after an 11-2 run to end the half. That included 3-pointers from Ivišić and Boswell and a Stojaković layup as time expired.
But Texas Tech made its first 11 shots of the second half to erase the lead. Toppin had seven of those baskets for 14 points. The Red Raiders’ first miss in the half came with 11 minutes, 58 seconds to play.
The play of Boswell and Stojaković fueled the Illini down the stretch.
“(Boswell) is a really good two-way player,” Underwood said. “He’s elite defensively, extremely strong. He’s our leader. We follow him. He had a bad turnover late and I have to see the flagrant foul, but he’s our guy.
“Downhill, open floor, with the shooting we have with our five-men, he can be very efficient and put himself in position to be one of the best guards in America.”
The win was even more impressive because the Illini were playing without 7-foot center Tomislav Ivišić, Zvonimir’s twin, who is out with a knee injury. Point guard Mihailo Petrović was in uniform but didn’t play as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
Texas Tech was without 6-11 forward Luke Bamgboye and 6-9 forward Josiah Moseley.
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