Illini Basketball 2026-2027

#1      

Dan

Dan
Admin
Dan
Welcome to the Illini Basketball thread :illinois:

Tickets Info


Reported Non-Conference Games

DateOpponentLocationInfo
Tue, Nov 10at Texas TechUnited Supermarkets Arena (Lubbock, TX)Link
Tue, Nov 17at DukeCameron Indoor Stadium (Durham, NC)Link
Fri, Dec 4UConnUnited Center (Chicago, IL)Link
MissouriEnterprise Center (St. Louis, MO)


IL Big Ten Opponents
Home & Away: Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin
Home only: Iowa, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, UCLA, USC
Away only: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Rutgers, Washington



IL Returnees
David Mirkovic
Tomislav Ivisic
Zvonimir Ivisic
Jake Davis
Andrej Stojakovic
Jason Jakstys
Blake Fagbemi

IL Newcomers
Ethan Brown
Landon Davis
Lucas Morillo
Zavier Zens
Quentin Coleman
Stefan Vaaks


Last year
Non-conference schedule released on August 18th
Big Ten schedule released on September 18th
Time & TV info released on October 7th
 
#2      
21ChampaignSt
Replying to @thefalcon5 post from the previous thread.

"Really hard to not be super excited for this season. Still crazy to me we are coming off a final four and are essentially a consensus top 5 team in the country."

We're entering unprecedented territory for our program.

That Final Four -> preseason top 5 combo has never happened.

This will be the 8th straight year we've appeared in the AP poll - our longest streak since we appeared in 13 in a row from 1949 to 1961.

This will (probably) be the fourth time we've been ranked in the preseason top 5 ('05, '02, '85).

This will (probably) be the third time since the 50s* that we've appeared in the top 5 in back to back years (01-02 and 89-90).

*Starting in 1949 we had a stretch where we appeared in the top 5 in 8 of 9 seasons, including a streak of 7 straight. Different times but still impressive.
 
#3      
RollChief
Replying to @Fly Illini Fly! :

Illini Basketball 2026-2027

The 2020-21 pre-season is an interesting comparison... We were #8 in that year's pre-season AP poll, and T-#10 in pre-season odds (according to covers.com archives). But our pre-season odds were +1400, which is right around (if not slightly better than) where we are now. That year, Gonzaga and...
www.illinoisloyalty.com www.illinoisloyalty.com

This is probably my favorite announcer's jinx of all time.
 
#5      
RollChief
21ChampaignSt said:
Replying to @thefalcon5 post from the previous thread.

"Really hard to not be super excited for this season. Still crazy to me we are coming off a final four and are essentially a consensus top 5 team in the country."

We're entering unprecedented territory for our program.

That Final Four -> preseason top 5 combo has never happened.

This will be the 8th straight year we've appeared in the AP poll - our longest streak since we appeared in 13 in a row from 1949 to 1961.

This will (probably) be the fourth time we've been ranked in the preseason top 5 ('05, '02, '85).

This will (probably) be the third time since the 50s* that we've appeared in the top 5 in back to back years (01-02 and 89-90).

*Starting in 1949 we had a stretch where we appeared in the top 5 in 8 of 9 seasons, including a streak of 7 straight. Different times but still impressive.
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It would be awesome to see QC go off in the FIBA AmeriCup and further boost our stock for next year...
 
#6      
BretMyBeachHouse
21ChampaignSt said:
Replying to @thefalcon5 post from the previous thread.

"Really hard to not be super excited for this season. Still crazy to me we are coming off a final four and are essentially a consensus top 5 team in the country."

We're entering unprecedented territory for our program.

That Final Four -> preseason top 5 combo has never happened.

This will be the 8th straight year we've appeared in the AP poll - our longest streak since we appeared in 13 in a row from 1949 to 1961.

This will (probably) be the fourth time we've been ranked in the preseason top 5 ('05, '02, '85).

This will (probably) be the third time since the 50s* that we've appeared in the top 5 in back to back years (01-02 and 89-90).

*Starting in 1949 we had a stretch where we appeared in the top 5 in 8 of 9 seasons, including a streak of 7 straight. Different times but still impressive.
Click to expand...
Are you talking 8 straight preseason? Because we didn’t finish in the poll in 23 or 25. The final poll is really the only one that matters.
 
#9      
ptgrd23
Expectations are sky high coming off Final 4 / elite 8

1985 E8 - returned 4 starters from elite 8 team - Douglas 3rd team All American, Winters, Montgomery and Altenberger. Lost 5'11" glue guy Quinn Richardson -- Lost in sweet 16 to GTech team with Mark Price and John Salley

1990 FF - returned Gill, Bardo, and Liberty. lost 1st round to Dayton

2006 Finals - returned Brown, Augustine Lost 2nd round to Washington

2025 E8 - returned no starters, lost 2nd round to Kentucky

2027 FF4 - returning 3 starters - Tomas, Andrej and David. Bring back rotation players Big Z and Jake. You need luck as well as peaking at right time to get FF. Our 2026 luck was VCU knocking out 6th seed UNC and Iowa knocking off #1 seed Florida and #4 seed Nebraska.

Its hard to get back. That is what defines elite programs in past 6 years only 3 teams have made it more than once

UConn 3X in 4 years
Duke 2X in 5 years
 
#10      
Fly Illini Fly!
Dan said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/2061432589596954634
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“Andrej Stojakovic played with the stress levels of Illinois fans a couple of times this offseason: First, he announced his intention to return to Champaign just before the transfer portal deadline, then entered the NBA draft -- and waited until the final hours to withdraw from the draft. But now that he is officially back as a member of the Illini, Brad Underwood's quest for back-to-back Final Fours can begin. Stojakovic joins returnees David Mirkovic, Tomislav Ivisic, Zvonimir Ivisic and Jake Davis. Providence transfer Stefan Vaaks and top-25 recruit Quentin Coleman anchor the backcourt.

Projected starting lineup

Quentin Coleman (No. 23 in SC Next 100)
Stefan Vaaks (15.8 PPG at Providence)
Andrej Stojakovic (13.5 PPG)
David Mirkovic (13.6 PPG)
Tomislav Ivisic (10.2 PPG)“
 
#11      
Fly Illini Fly!
Fly Illini Fly! said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/2061458850486563153
Click to expand...

“1. Illinois​

2025-26 record: 28-9, 15-5 in Big Ten play.

Postseason: Lost in the Final Four to UConn.

Projected 2026-27 starting lineup

Top bench options: F Jake Davis, C Zvonimir Ivisic, G Lucas Morillo, G Ethan Brown, F Zavier Zens, F Jason Jakstys

The scoop: Illinois has one of the highest floors in the Big Ten because its strengths travel every night. The Illini will be one of the biggest teams in the Big Ten, featuring a top-eight rotation that is littered with seven guys who are 6-foot-6 or taller. It will be the best-shooting frontcourt in the Big Ten, which pulls shot-blockers away from the paint. It will also be one of the elite rebounding squads.

Size, shooting and rebounding give you a chance to win every night, and there's beauty in balance. Illinois' entire starting 5 is capable of getting 15-to-18 points, based on the matchup.”
 
#18      
Piotyr
The thing about the B1G is you can be 10th best and still a clear tournament team at this point.

I'm not completely sold on USC yet, though. I think they're closer to 10th than 4th.
 
#19      
RockfordIllini
Fly Illini Fly! said:
People act like Purdue can never be bad. In 2019-20, they finished 16-15 with a 9-11 conf record and wouldn’t have made it in.

Yes it’s been a while, but it’s also the last time they had a similar loss of talent on their roster.
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Right. Who of their returning players look like they have all conference potential? Mayer maybe? But there’s going to be a lot of great guards in the BIG. Jacobson looks more Matt Harms than Zach Edey. I like Cox and Harris but they are role players. Maybe their incoming frosh Ertl is the real deal.

Painter deserves all the credit for identifying and developing Edey and Smith. But there’s a certain amount of luck turning 3 stars into BPOYs/NPOYs and that’s bound to end at some point.

Just like us with Keaton. We don’t make our first F4 in over 20 years without finding a consensus AA in a top 150ish kid or whatever he was. So that’s incredible talent identification but not sustainable long term. Thankfully our talent level is a good bit higher than Purdue’s so I think we have a better chance of sustained success next year and going forward.
 
#24      
hoopsfan47
I-L-L 1318 said:
Very cool seeing Mirk #1…but didn’t he already break out as a freshmen? I think his ppg will go up just due to more minutes, but he was straight up dominant at times.
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For this upcoming season, and given I am always intrigued to see how players develop, I am fascinated to see in what areas and how much DM steps his game up. Not since Giorgi have I seen a big surprise me like David did last year....though I must explain that I thought Keaton would surprise everyone yet not to the point that he did. It was a blessing to see them both but the challenge, IMHO, for a big in the B1G is unique. Watching Mirk play another season for the Fighting Illini is epic for us all.
 
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