Illini Basketball 2026-2027

#227      
Iamgroot
HoopsterMan said:
Anticipating those top 3 are preseason 3. The scary trend is that only 1 of the top 4 make the F4. There there is a team from 5-8, then the other two teams come out of the teens through 20's.
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Hopefully this is the year of breaking trends and the beloved finally bring that trophy home to the house of paign.ILL
 
#228      
NarrowJ
Fighter of the Nightman said:
I was super curious, so I looked up our top 50 KenPom non-conference opponents in the Underwood Era! Apologies in advance if I missed any.

2017-2018
vs. #40 Missouri (St. Louis, MO)

2018-2019
vs. #2 Gonzaga (Maui, HI)
vs. #15 Iowa State (Maui, HI)

2019-2020
at #19 Arizona

2020-2021 (Shortened COVID Season)
vs. #2 Baylor (Indianapolis, IN)
at #36 Duke

2021-2022
vs. #5 Arizona
vs. #38 Notre Dame
at #47 Missouri

2022-2023
vs. #3 UCLA (Las Vegas, NV)
vs. #5 Texas (New York, NY)
vs. #34 Virginia (Las Vegas, NV)

2023-2024
at #5 Tennessee
vs. #13 Marquette
vs. #47 FAU (New York, NY)

2024-2025
vs. #1 Duke (New York, NY)
vs. #5 Tennessee
vs. #6 Alabama (Birmingham, AL)
vs. #19 Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
vs. #36 Arkansas (Kansas City, MO)

2025-2026
vs. #9 UConn (New York, NY)
vs. #12 Alabama (Chicago, IL)
vs. #14 Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
vs. #20 Texas Tech

2026-2027
at #1 Duke
vs. #11 UConn (Chicago, IL)
at #12 Texas Tech
vs. #37 North Carolina (Nashville, TN)
vs. #48 Missouri (St. Louis, MO)

One top 50 opponent in Year 1 to five in Year 10, including three in the top 15!
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You inspired me to cook up another tool this afternoon: Quality Record

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#229      
CDRUSN
When asked how long you've been an Illini fan, the appropriate response is:

All me bloomin' life.
Me mother was Alma Mater.
Me father was Chief Illiniwek.
I was born in the corn of Morrow Plot,
Rocked in a cradle in Grange Grove.
Orange and Blue are me clothes.
When I drinks, it's at Kam's bar.
I's loyal I is, I am, I are.
 
#239      
Rusty
HereSoIDontGetFined said:
I don't like the level of expectation this puts on us, but at the same time, you kind of have to be in that upper tier to have a shot at a title.
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I want every year to be Duke, UCONN, Kentucky, Kansas expectations. If people are honest. the angst is the fun part, it makes the wins so much sweeter, the losses taste like the day after Natty Lite bile and if we are to get to where everyone on this board wants us to go it has to be painful, euphoric and then hopefully we are all crying the 1st week of April. jm2c
 
#241      
OrangeBlue98
Dan said:
The Big 12 finally released their designations & we have a complete tipoff & TV schedule set for the regular season-

Illinois at Texas Tech (Tue, Nov 10): 7:00pm CT, Peacock [via]

Illini Basketball Schedule (fightingillini.com)
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Really surprised this one isn’t on a linear network, but this might also be one of those games where Peacock puts a high profile game exclusively on the site to draw people to subscribe.
 
#244      
OrangeBlue98
Rusty said:
I want every year to be Duke, UCONN, Kentucky, Kansas expectations. If people are honest. the angst is the fun part, it makes the wins so much sweeter, the losses taste like the day after Natty Lite bile and if we are to get to where everyone on this board wants us to go it has to be painful, euphoric and then hopefully we are all crying the 1st week of April. jm2c
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These expectations are so, so much better than hoping we sneak into the tournament as a 10 seed.

As my 9 year old nephew shows when he plays baseball with a colored glove, sunglasses, and a rope necklace, “If you want to be a star you first have to play the part.” No use trying to downplay it. Illinois clearly expects to win big this year, so might as well show it.
 
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