The scoreboard operator might be the busiest man in Champaign, Ill., on Tuesday night.
That’s because No. 10 Texas Tech is visiting No. 17 Illinois in a battle of ranked teams more than familiar with triple-digits.
The Red Raiders (2-0) have scored 98 points in each of their home wins over Lindenwood and Sam Houston State, while the Fighting Illini (2-0) have recorded 113 points in blowout victories over Jackson State and Florida Gulf Coast.
Making Illinois even more enticing in the early going has been the versatility it has displayed. After sinking 17 3-pointers on Nov. 3 against the Tigers, it attacked the rim consistently Friday night in blowing out the Eagles.
Kylan Boswell scored a career-high 31 points on just 13 shot attempts, largely because he beat a path to the foul line. He made 11 of his 13 foul shots for the Illini, who went 30 of 34 from the charity stripe.
Boswell also grabbed 10 rebounds, another early theme for this team.
After swamping Jackson State 61-19 on the glass, Illinois earned a 51-30 advantage against Florida Gulf Coast.
“It’s how you win games, in my opinion, when that ball is not going in as frequently as it did tonight,” Illini coach Brad Underwood said.
Returning forward Ben Humrichous, who’s averaging 15 points and five rebounds through two games, said the team will continue to stress rebounding in order to supplement its abundant offensive skill.
“Obviously, we are skilled. Obviously, we can shoot across the board,” Humrichous said. “That is something that we are able to do great things with. But it will always come down to rebounding — both sides of the basketball.”
While the Illini focus on rebounding, Texas Tech is looking to get its entire team together at the same time. The Red Raiders have battled early-season injuries, missing four players with lower-body ailments against Lindenwood, but got closer to full strength for Friday night’s 98-77 rout of Sam Houston State.
Preseason Big 12 Conference Player of the Year JT Toppin, who sat out the opener with a lower-body injury, made his 2025-26 season debut on Friday night with 31 points and 14 rebounds. Washington State transfer LeJuan Watts also made his season debut after overcoming a lower-body injury, posting 11 points and six rebounds.
“You can tell we haven’t practiced enough together to be at our best yet,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said after the win over Sam Houston State. “I love our team and the direction we’re going. I thought our composure against their physicality was good.”
Point guard Christian Anderson is making things go for the Red Raiders, averaging 26 points and nine assists per game. The matchup with him and Boswell could decide this game.
Another player to watch for Texas Tech is 3-point bomber Donovan Atwell, who has canned six from deep in each of the first two games. He’s averaging 20.5 ppg and converting 50% of his attempts from long range.
This will be the first-ever meeting of these programs.
–Field Level Media
