Illini Basketball 2026-2027
Homecoming 2019
- Chicago
Lucky for us thats the Underwood transfer specialty, did it with both TSJ & Andrej.
Boswell too
domask
Going into last season many thought he'd be our best player. Of course many also though Keaton would be a reserve.
He was injured to start the year and seemed to never really get on track until the tournament. Hopefully he can pick up where he left off.
Dan
Admin
^^ speaking of the Nashville game, public tickets go on sale Thu, Oct 15.
You can also sign up on the website to be eligible for a presale taking place on October 14-
"Fans who register for these alerts will also be eligible for an exclusive ticket presale taking place on October 14, prior to the public sale on October 15."
nashvillehoopsshowdown.com
You can also sign up on the website to be eligible for a presale taking place on October 14-
"Fans who register for these alerts will also be eligible for an exclusive ticket presale taking place on October 14, prior to the public sale on October 15."
Nashville Hoops Showdown – Tickets
nashvillehoopsshowdown.com
I'm excited for a fully healthy Tomi season. He naturally deferred to Keaton usage last year. But the flashes he showed against Iowa to ice that game. Putting up 16 and 7 in a gritty defensive battle against UConn. Slowing down Tarris Reed (1st round pick) as the primary defender in the second half.
Each returning player from our team last year has an interest potential narrative arc going into this season. But 30min of Tomi at the 5 providing two-way value building on his '24-'25 campaign and '26 tourney is probably the #1 reason this year's floor is as high as it is.
When Tomi is playing well, this team is so dang difficult to deal with
One stat is block %. Another is how often can you prevent the shot near the rim in the first place. This may be by holding position 6-10' from the rim. I don't know how the two compare on this latter stat.
Epsilon
M tipping over
- Pdx
That must be all of our best inbounds plays.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Nice! Hoping that place is packed with orange!!
TSJ rim rate.
2022 at Texas Tech: 32.8%
2023 at Illinois: 36.9%
2024 at Illinois: 37.1%
Andrej rim rate.
2025 at Cal: 41.2%
2026 at Illinois: 49.4%
Boswell rim rate.
2024 at Arizona: 19.3%
2025 at Illinois: 44.8%
2026 at Illinois: 40.7%
Domask rim rate.
2023 at SIU: 34.4%
2024 at Illinois: 32.9%
…..
Rim rate definition: the percentage of a player’s total field goal attempts that come at the rim.
I'm with you Fighter. The old Norm Stewart Tigers vs Lou Henson Fighting Ilini Bragging Rights games were typically Top 15 or even Top 10 slugfests for years. And the Lute Olson vs Henson games were similar in their importance. I hope both teams at highly ranked when we smash them into the dirt.Also, this clip of Braggin' Rights reminded me, I have two scalding hot takes for this season that most here will hate, haha ... I want both Mizzou and Iowa to be top 25 teams all year (and of course lose to us!!). I get that fans like to see rival teams fail, but these are our two most high-profile rivalries at the moment, and I think it helps our program's brand / exposure if both are perceived well nationally.
It does us absolutely no good for Braggin' Rights to be a Quad 3 snooze fest when it could be one of the most hyped non-conference events every season ... the setup is just way too cool and way too unique to let it lose its luster because Mizzou is always terrible. For Iowa, I just want to have a meaningful Big Ten rivalry game that I look forward to where I know the other team feels the same. Northwestern sucks and the game never has that "extra juice," and Indiana is so far up their own a$$ that they get off saying it's "not a rivalry," as if WE would need THEM to elevate our status these days.Iowa fans genuinely think of us as their biggest rival in hoops (from my experience), and I am happy to return the favor to maintain an awesome and mutual rivalry that gives us more of a spotlight.
RichardKeenesCousin
Richard Keene's Cousin
I bought a package yesterday that included a hotel stay for the family. I think I got it from the Bridgestone area website.^^ speaking of the Nashville game, public tickets go on sale Thu, Oct 15.
You can also sign up on the website to be eligible for a presale taking place on October 14-
"Fans who register for these alerts will also be eligible for an exclusive ticket presale taking place on October 14, prior to the public sale on October 15."
Nashville Hoops Showdown – Tickets
RichardKeenesCousin
Richard Keene's Cousin
I'm still mad about the kid who tripped the chief one year. I think it was during that era?
RichardKeenesCousin
Richard Keene's Cousin
Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
That is one knock that remains w/ Brad. I admit to being a Brad critic but he shoved it up my keister last March. I would like to see a bit more creativity on those inbound plays. 1 or 2 cheapies per game really can matter. Especially in those high leverage games that we hope to play in late March/early April. It's a bit of a nitpick but with the potential for this season you want to leave no stone unturned.