Illini Basketball 2026-2027

#1      

Dan

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

Tickets Info


Reported Non-Conference Games

DateOpponentLocationInfo
Mon, Nov 2Fairleigh DickinsonState Farm CenterLink
Thu, Nov 5PennState Farm CenterLink
Tue, Nov 10at Texas TechUnited Supermarkets Arena (Lubbock, TX)Link
Fri, Nov 13Sam Houston StState Farm CenterLink
Tue, Nov 17at DukeCameron Indoor Stadium (Durham, NC)Link
Mon, Nov 23WinthropState Farm CenterLink
Fri, Dec 4UConnUnited Center (Chicago, IL)Link
Sun, Dec 20MissouriEnterprise Center (St. Louis, MO)Link
Tue, Dec 29SeattleState Farm CenterLink
Sat, Jan 30North CarolinaBridgestone Arena (Nashville, TN)Link


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

illini-basketball-2026.jpg

[Via]
Landon Davis, Zavier Zens, Lincoln Williams, Ethan Brown, Lucas Morillo, Quentin Coleman, Stefan Vaaks



Last year
Non-conference schedule was released on August 18th
Big Ten schedule was released on September 18th
Time & TV info was released on October 7th
 
#3      
Combo
Username said:
Vaaks, Morillo, and Zens all listed at 6'7", and Vaaks appears to be the tallest (although Zens is in slides). Davis is listed at 6'9" and I'd say Vaaks is closer to that than 6'7". He's going to be a matchup problem - can't wait!!
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Always hard to tell from a group picture. Vaaks and Davis are closer to the camera so they're going to appear relatively taller.

Regardless, Vaaks is a big kid. Poor man's Doncic.
 
#4      
Username
Combo said:
Always hard to tell from a group picture. Vaaks and Davis are closer to the camera so they're going to appear relatively taller.

Regardless, Vaaks is a big kid.
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Next you're going to tell me Vaaks has a long neck so his (perceived) additional height is wasted. /s

Seriously though, valid point w/the closer to the camera note.

Either way, this is the most excited/optimistic I've been in the pre-season since the mid 2000s.
 
#6      
Det_Illini_fan
Not sure if I just havenā€™t heard or paid enough attention, but do we have any marquee exhibition matchups or closed door practice games against big programs heading into the season? Iā€™m seeing other schools announce them, and usually we do like Florida last year, but I just havenā€™t seen them this year yet.
 
#7      
jjv0004
Combo said:
Always hard to tell from a group picture. Vaaks and Davis are closer to the camera so they're going to appear relatively taller.

Regardless, Vaaks is a big kid. Poor man's Doncic.
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I am pretty confident he will be better than Doncic and Q will be better than Wagler.
 
#13      
ddechenne
If Vaaks is definitely our point guard, heā€™s a big one. Should provide match up problems.
 
#15      
lstewart53x3
ddechenne said:
If Vaaks is definitely our point guard, heā€™s a big one. Should provide match up problems.
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I still feel like there's a good chance Vaaks ends up at point, but the buzz this summer is that Mirk will be the primary facilitator. Could just be summer talk though.
 
#16      
MDchicago
lstewart53x3 said:
I still feel like there's a good chance Vaaks ends up at point, but the buzz this summer is that Mirk will be the primary facilitator. Could just be summer talk though.
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Sub Pop Animation GIF by Sub Pop Records


Suspect it will end up being a multi-headed monster (in a good way). Hoping for more of the above than the below....

Three Stooges Vintage GIF
 
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