No. 16 Texas Tech's Historic Streak At Stake vs. No. 3 Illinois

LUBBOCK -- Texas Tech men's basketball has won 48 consecutive nonconference games inside United Supermarkets Arena.

That streak hangs in the balance Tuesday night when the No. 16 Red Raiders face their highest-ranked nonconference opponent at home in program history, the No. 3 Illinois Fighting Illini.

After relatively routine wins over Jackson State and Bethune-Cookman to begin the season, Tech's matchup with Illinois will test the Red Raiders' resolve early in the season.

"Illinois is such an aggressive team and one of the best offensive teams in the country," Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said this week. "They are so competitive and have so many guys that can score. Coach [Brad] Underwood has done a fantastic job with their team with expectations. You can tell they expect to win. They rebound, attack you and are really physical. They're a very impressive team."

McCasland and the Red Raiders faced a similar setting last season, when they traveled to Champaign in the third game of the season. The Illini, also the first ranked team Tech faced a year ago at No. 14, won 81-77. Texas Tech then lost its second ranked game of the year to No. 1 Purdue a few games later.

In last year's matchup, All-American forward JT Toppin posted a 35-point, 11-rebound double-double. Toppin will be out for the Red Raiders against the Illini Tuesday as he recovers from the torn ACL that cut his stellar 2025-26 season short.

Illinois returns dynamic scorer Andrej Stojakovic, who scored a team-high 23 points off the bench in last year's matchup. The Illini, just the seventh top-10 team to play in Lubbock in nonconference action and the first since 2012, reached the 2026 Final Four before losing to UConn.

Stojakovic leads the Illini in scoring this season at 22.5 points per game.

A crop of newcomers are leading the Red Raiders in Toppin's absence. The backcourt duo of Cruz Davis and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn lead the team with 15 points per game apiece. Davis is also averaging 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists a night while Josiah Moseley has chipped in 12.5 points and 8.5 rebounds off the bench.

McCasland also reported on Monday afternoon that UCF transfer forward Jamichael Stillwell will make his Texas Tech debut on Tuesday. Stillwell has been seen in a boot during the first two games and has received a new temporary injunction that grants him a fifth year of eligibility.

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"To have a home game of this caliber this early in the season is tremendous for college basketball," McCasland said. "It's great for us and I hope we appreciate the opportunity as Red Raiders to compete against a great team at home. I know we'll have a great crowd and it'll be awesome.

"This place is special because so many people love being part of Red Raider Basketball. This place will be full and it'll be a lot of fun."

The Red Raiders host the Illini at 7 p.m. on Peacock.