Illini Basketball 2025-2026

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#328      
AyoDos11
21ChampaignSt said:
Seems favorable ish. The away-only slate is considerably tougher than the home-only slate. But getting Nebraska and Northwestern twice is a gift.
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I'm hesitant to celebrate getting NW twice considering we haven't won at their place since 2021-22. Surely that ends this year, right??
 
#329      
21ChampaignSt
AyoDos11 said:
I'm hesitant to celebrate getting NW twice considering we haven't won at their place since 2021-22. Surely that ends this year, right??
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Oof.. good point.

Another observation. If you assume that Purdue, Michigan, UCLA, and Illinois are the primary contenders for the championship then Purdue and UCLA have the early scheduling advantage only having to play a top team on the road once.

Purdue: vs. Illinois, vs. Michigan, @UCLA
Illinois: @Purdue, @UCLA, vs. Michigan
Michigan: @Purdue, @Illinois, vs UCLA
UCLA: vs Purdue, vs. Illinois, @Michigan
 
#330      
NarrowJ
The more I look at the schedule, I retract my earlier statement. The schedule does look fairly soft, but my initial reaction to it was a bit overboard.

I suppose the main thing was just being happy not to see any of Michigan/Purdue/UCLA/Oregon/tOSU/MSU/Washington 2x.
 
#332      
Fighter of the Nightman
My initial gut reactions, strictly from a personal/fan perspective and not including any analysis of who will be good or anything:

1. There is no excuse for us not to play Iowa every year. They don't even have a protected rivalry for hoops, and it's a travesty when we don't get a home-and-home with them. Period.
2. On that note ... while Sunday is worse than Saturday, I will take a weekend game at Iowa back on the books. I think we will try to head to Iowa City and make a day out of that one with our friends!
3. I assume the PSU game in Philadelphia is at the Palestra?? If so, I frickin' love that. Awesome venue.
4. Really wish the NU game in Evanston could have at least been on a Thursday. I love when Illini fans take over that place, and while I am sure we will still have a great showing like always ... the crowd is usually bigger and rowdier closer to the weekend.
5. Regarding my quest to get to more Big Ten arenas (I have only been to Illinois, Iowa and Northwestern for hoops), it looks like Saturday away games at Purdue and MSU would be the most epic!
6. I try not to be superstitious from season to season, but man I cannot lie ... I hate the idea of finishing our season at Maryland, lol.
 
#338      
illinifan1987
AyoDos11 said:
I can see it now: we head into College Park needing a win to clinch the B1G conference title....and we win by 20 🤣
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Fix It I Got You GIF by MASTERPIECE | PBS
 
#340      
lstewart53x3
lstewart53x3 said:
I really feel there needs to be pods for conferences. Where you’re playing the exact same teams twice every year to develop rivalries.

We should be playing:

- Iowa
- Michigan
- Purdue
- Indiana

Twice every single year.
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Replying to myself here, but one easy way to do it:

- (3) 6 team pods
- play each team in your pod twice (10 games)
- expand conference play to 22 games
- play each of the remaining 12 teams once.

That would preserve rivalries in college basketball.
 
#341      
CrazyIlliniLady
Todd99 said:
Does Morez get a warm welcome when he returns to the Hall?
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LOL. I personally wouldn't boo him, but did you see the reception Skyy Clark got last year? Morez will be under attack by the Orange Crush from start to finish. If he (or his father) had handled things differently it could have been a better situation since he was such a fan favoritethe last year. That said, the way he left coupled with where he went have created a bitterness Illini fans have rarely felt...
 
#342      
21ChampaignSt
lstewart53x3 said:
Replying to myself here, but one easy way to do it:

- (3) 6 team pods
- play each team in your pod twice (10 games)
- expand conference play to 22 games
- play each of the remaining 12 teams once.

That would preserve rivalries in college basketball.
Click to expand...
It's a cool idea but it would be difficult to find 6 team combinations that would make every team happy. Like in the theoretical Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, IU, Purdue pod, Michigan would want MSU and maybe OSU in the pod and Northwestern would want to be in our pod.

Geographically based pods could make sense though we lose a couple rivals.

East
- Rutgers
- Maryland
- PSU
- OSU
- Michigan
- MSU

Central
- Indiana
- Purdue
- Illinois
- Northwestern
- Wisconsin
- Minnesota

West
- Iowa
- Nebraska
- Washington
- Oregon
- USC
- UCLA
 
#343      
IlliniFan42
21ChampaignSt said:
It's a cool idea but it would be difficult to find 6 team combinations that would make every team happy. Like in the theoretical Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, IU, Purdue pod, Michigan would want MSU and maybe OSU in the pod and Northwestern would want to be in our pod.

Geographically based pods could make sense though we lose a couple rivals.

East
- Rutgers
- Maryland
- PSU
- OSU
- Michigan
- MSU

Central
- Indiana
- Purdue
- Illinois
- Northwestern
- Wisconsin
- Minnesota

West
- Iowa
- Nebraska
- Washington
- Oregon
- USC
- UCLA
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The two schools bucketed with the West Coast would complain, and I wouldn't blame them.
 
#348      
DICKnaggie
CrazyIlliniLady said:
LOL. I personally wouldn't boo him, but did you see the reception Skyy Clark got last year? Morez will be under attack by the Orange Crush from start to finish. If he (or his father) had handled things differently it could have been a better situation since he was such a fan favoritethe last year. That said, the way he left coupled with where he went have created a bitterness Illini fans have rarely felt...
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It was a !!!! post. They already knew the answer.
 
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