CHAMPAIGN — Andrej Stojaković scored 24 points for his fourth 20-point performance in five games, leading No. 13 Illinois to an 87-73 victory over Texas Rio Grande Valley on Monday night.
Mihailo Petrović had 12 points, and David Mirković and twins Zvonimir and Tomislav Ivišić each added 10 for the Illini (6-1), who are 6-0 at home.
Illinois has started the season scoring 80 or more points in all seven games. The Illini haven’t done that since the 1988-89 season, when the “Flyin’ Illini,” who reached the Final Four, opened with 12 consecutive games of 80-plus points.
Kye Dickson scored 21 points and Filip Brankovic had 15 for Texas Rio Grande Valley (2-4), which trailed 42-31 at halftime and cut the Illinois lead to six points twice early in the second half but didn’t get any closer.
Stojaković scored 14 points in the first half.
Illinois, the top rebounding team in the Big Ten, outrebounded the Vaqueros 44-32. Keaton Wagler and Ben Humrichous each had eight rebounds, Zvonimir Ivišić seven and Stojaković six.
The Vaqueros went 16-15 last season. It was their first winning season since 2018-19. They’re in their second season in the Southland Conference after 11 years in the Western Athletic Conference.
Illinois coach Brad Underwood went 53-1 against Southland teams while winning three regular-season titles and three conference tournament championships from 2013-16 at Stephen F. Austin.
The Illini will face No. 5 Connecticut on Friday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
