Brad Underwood has had very good offensive teams throughout his time as a Division I basketball coach, but the 2025–26 Illini are his best yet. Illinois is currently averaging 84.6 points per game and is ranked No. 1 in adjusted offensive efficiency at KenPom and Bart Torvik.
This year’s Illini team is not just the best offense of the Brad Underwood era, it is rated as the most efficient offense in KenPom history, dating back to the 1996–97 season.
While at Oklahoma State during the 2016-17 season, Underwood had the No. 1 offense in the country. The early years at Illinois were a struggle, but in every season since 2020 (except 2022-23) the Illini have finished with a top 38 offense nationally at KenPom.
Those seasons include a No. 8 finish in 2021, a No. 3 finish in 2024, a No. 14 finish in 2025, and a current No. 1 ranking.
Tyler Underwood became an assistant coach and took over as offensive coordinator for the 2023–24 season. The Illini have seen a noticeable jump in offensive production since his promotion.
Illinois made the Elite Eight and finished the season ranked No. 3 nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency in 2024. They followed that campaign by earning a No. 14 ranking in 2025.
“The game is always evolving”, said Tyler Underwood.
“You look at the NBA, offensive rebounding is at an all-time high. So that is going to continue to be something we emphasize,” Tyler added.
The Illini have had several elite offensive rebounding teams over the past few seasons, but this group ranks highest of them all. Illinois retrieves 39.7% of its missed shots and currently rank No. 4 nationally in offensive rebounding percentage.
The Illinois staff stressed shot selection throughout the offseason, and that emphasis has translated into efficient shooting numbers. The Illini own a 55.8% effective field goal percentage, are shooting 58.3% from two-point range, and 35.6% from beyond the arc. Those shooting numbers are all improvements from last season.
“Self-reflection from past years. How can we better teach shot selection? I think it is the most important thing in terms of an efficient offense, so we tried to put it in a simple way. We talk about gold, silver and bronze,” Tyler stated.
“We want offense in practice to be super hard. We will play games where we can’t score unless it is on a cut or no dribble possessions. We try to constrain our way through and help our guys understand that there are multiple ways to find these gold medal shots throughout a possession.”
Those practice reps have clearly given the Illini the ability to win in multiple ways more so than previous Illinois teams. The versatility from everyone in the rotation and the consistency of this offense has been nothing short of exceptional.
Illinois has five players averaging double-figure points, and every Illini has had at least one game where they were able to shine. Kylan Boswell, Keaton Wagler, Andrej Stojakovic, David Mirkovic, Ben Humrichous, Jake Davis, and Zvonimir Ivisic have all led the Illini in scoring in at least one game this season.
Illinois currently has the highest-rated offense in the history of KenPom and continues to “wow” fans with its ball movement, shot-making, and individual performances.