College basketball rankings: Illinois' David Mirkovic latest to add name to historically great freshman class
Mirkovic had 27 points and 21 rebounds in a win vs. Colgate for Illinois, the No. 12 team in the Top 25 And 1
By
Gary Parrish
•
1 min read
We're not even two full weeks into this season and it's already clear that the freshman class is historically great. Kansas' Darryn Peterson, BYU's AJ Dybantsa and Duke's Cameron Boozer are headlining things -- in part because they were the consensus top three prospects in the Class of 2025, in part because they are projected by most to go first, second and third (in some order) in the 2026 NBA Draft.
They're all great, undeniably.
But, as I've previously noted, the list of elite freshmen does not stop there. Tennessee's Nate Ament also belongs on it. Arizona's Koa Peat also belongs on it. North Carolina's Caleb Wilson also belongs on it. Virginia Tech's Neoklis Aydalas also belongs on it. And, after what he did Friday night, it appears that Illinois' David Mirkovic also belongs on it.
The 6-foot-9 forward from Montenegro took 16 shots, made half of them and finished with 27 points and 21 rebounds in the Ilinini's 84-65 win over Colgate. While doing so, Mirkovic became the first Illinois player to get 20-plus points and 20-plus rebounds in a game since Nick Weatherspoon did it in 1972.
After it was over, Illinois coach Brad Underwood said he and Mirkovic had been going back-and-forth a bit earlier in the week in practice. Clearly, whatever happened in workouts translated positively to the game.
"I think he will tell you that I have been on him pretty good for a couple of days about his performance rebounding," Underwood said.
The result was 21 boards for Mirkovic against Colgate -- 13 defensive, eight offensive. He grabbed 15 more rebounds than any Colgate player. He out-rebounded Colgate's entire starting lineup by four.
Mirkovic is now averaging 18.5 points and 12.5 rebounds through four games with the Illini. He's the biggest reason Illinois is up to No. 12 in Saturday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Purdue remains No. 1 for the seventh straight day.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
1
Illinois
4
UCLA
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Braden Smith finished with 29 points and seven rebounds in Thursday's 87-80 win over Alabama. The Boilermakers' next game is Sunday against Akron. | -- | 6-0 |
| 2 |  | Emanuel Sharp finished with 19 points and four assists in Wednesday's 78-45 win over Oakland. The Cougars' next game is Sunday against Auburn. | -- | 5-0 |
| 3 |  | Robert Wright III finished with 26 points, nine assists and nine rebounds in Tuesday's 85-68 win over Delaware. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against UConn. | -- | 4-1 |
| 4 |  | Solo Ball finished with 23 points and three assists in Monday's 89-62 win over Columbia. The Huskies' next game is Saturday against BYU. | -- | 4-1 |
| 5 |  | Anthony Dell'Orso finished with 20 points and three assists in Friday's 69-65 win over UCLA. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday at UConn. | -- | 5-0 |
| 6 |  | Thomas Haugh finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds in Tuesday's 78-76 win over Florida State. The Gators' next game is Sunday against Miami. | -- | 4-1 |
| 7 |  | Yaxel Lendeborg finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's 67-63 in over TCU. The Wolverines' next game is Wednesday against Middle Tennessee. | -- | 4-0 |
| 8 |  | Cameron Boozer finished with 35 points and 12 rebounds in Friday's 100-62 win over Indiana State. The Blue Devils' next game is Tuesday against Kansas. | -- | 6-0 |
| 9 |  | Mikel Brown Jr. finished with 29 points and five assists in Tuesday's 96-88 win over Kentucky. The Cardinals' next game is Saturday against Ohio. | -- | 5-0 |
| 10 |  | Latrell Wrightsell was 2-of-9 from the field in Thursday's 87-80 loss to Purdue. The Crimson Tide's next game is Wednesday against Illinois. | -- | 3-1 |
| 11 |  | Joson Sanon was 1-of-6 from the field in Saturday's 103-96 loss to Alabama. The Red Storm's next game is Saturday against William & Mary. | -- | 3-1 |
| 12 |  | David Mirkovic finished with 27 points and 21 rebounds in Friday's 84-65 win over Colgate. The Illini's next game is Wednesday against Alabama. | 1 | 5-1 |
| 13 |  | Tamin Lipsey finished with 25 points and six assists in Monday's 96-80 win over Mississippi State. The Cyclones' next game is Monday against Stonehill. | 1 | 4-0 |
| 14 |  | Graham Ike finished with 20 points and nine rebounds in Friday's 77-65 win over Arizona State. The Zags' next game is Monday at Southern Utah. | 1 | 5-0 |
| 15 |  | Christian Anderson finished with 18 points and seven assists in Friday's 80-63 win over Milwaukee. The Red Raiders' next game is Thursday against Wake Forest. | 1 | 4-2 |
| 16 |  | Skyy Clark was 3 of 11 from the field on Friday's 69-65 loss to Arizona. The Bruins' next game is Tuesday against Sacramento State. | 4 | 5-1 |
| 17 |  | Mouhamed Dioubate finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds in Friday's 99-53 win over Eastern Illinois. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Michigan State. | -- | 4-2 |
| 18 |  | Carson Cooper finished with 17 points and four steals in Thursday's 79-60 win over San Jose State. The Spartans' next game is Tuesday against Kentucky. | -- | 5-0 |
| 19 |  | Jackson Shelstad finished with 22 points and eight assists in Wednesday's 83-69 win over South Dakota State. The Ducks' next game is Monday against Oregon State. | -- | 4-0 |
| 20 |  | Darius Acuff Jr. finished with 20 points and five assists in Friday's 79-75 in over Samford. The Razorbacks' next game is Tuesday against Winthrop. | -- | 5-1 |
| 21 |  | Caleb Wilson finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds in Friday's 97-53 win over North Carolina Central. The Tar Heels' next game is Tuesday against Navy. | -- | 5-0 |
| 22 |  | Kohl Roasrio finished with 16 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 77-46 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against Princeton. | -- | 3-2 |
| 23 |  | Nate Ament finished with 19 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's 99-66 win over North Florida. The Vols' next game is Monday against Rice. | -- | 5-0 |
| 24 |  | Elijah Freeman finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 93-62 win over Wofford. The Tigers' next game is Sunday against Houston. | -- | 4-1 |
| 25 |  | Nolan Winter finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 86-55 win over Ball State. The Badgers' next game is Monday against SIUE. | -- | 4-1 |
| 26 |  | AJ Storr finished with 14 points and two steals in Friday's 82-60 win over Cal State Bakersfield. The Rebels' next game is Tuesday against Austin Peay. | -- | 5-0 |
