Coach Brad Underwood's Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team suffered a 95-91 exhibition loss to coach Scott Drew's Baylor Bears on Friday night amid a big game from freshman Quentin Coleman and tough injury news on AP Preseason All-American David Mirkovic.
The Fighting Illini are now 1-1 on the exhibition season heading into its final tilt against the Illinois-Chicago Flames on Oct. 28, with the regular season opener scheduled for Nov. 2 against Fairleigh Dickinson.
Underwood spoke about the learning lessons endured, and absorbed, by the Illini freshmen against the Bears as he commended them for their mindset and ability to bounce back.
Underwood Riffs on Veterans vs. Freshman
Underwood spoke about the difference between college basketball veterans and freshmen in a postgame press conference shared by Tristan Thomas of WCIA-3.
"You know, that was the beauty of Ben (Humrichous), and those veterans last year. They didn't make those mistakes. Freshmen were, Keaton (Wagler) was rare. Mirk (David Mirkovic) was rare, Mirk had a lot of issues defensively earlier.
"But this group will be fine they'll get better, they care, they try, they're smart. But they just have to get, like tonight, busted in the mouth a bit, to see what that looks like, and…Very typical of freshmen.
"I comment all the time about the challenges with them, and I've always played them. That's what this is for, the freshmen get better so quick at a rapid rate when you play them, and so they become your ceiling, and that's what really, really excites me about this group."
Coleman Leads the Way in Exhibition Loss
Five-star freshman and Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year Quentin Coleman showed off the Illini's ceiling in his own unique way as he scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Illinois in their loss.
Fellow freshman Ethan Brown started and played 16 minutes for Underwood's team, scoring seven points on 3-for-8 shooting. Another freshman, Lucas Morrilo, also played, recording six points in nine minutes.
Landon Davis, also part of Underwood's six-man offseason freshman recruiting class, added four minutes and did not record a stat except for one turnover.
Brown and Coleman look like potential starters with Mirkovic still ailing ahead of Illinois' season opener, while Davis got a shout-out from Underwood as someone he trusts to log minutes as a backup this season.
The Fighting Illini's freshman class looks like another special one on the heels of the Mirkovic and Wagler one in 2025-26, and they're getting their feet wet ahead of schedule.
Illinois has one of the deepest rosters in college basketball, now it's time for each individual player to look themselves in the mirror to figure out how they can get better with the Illini's sights set on a possible national championship run.