Illini Basketball 2026-2027

#377      
Emerson Bigguns
lstewart53x3 said:
Based on the exhibition game that doesn’t count and likely doesn’t tell us anything, here’s my guess for highest to lowest in minutes on the season:

Mirk
Andrej
QC
Tomi
J Davis
Brown
Vaaks
Z
L Davis
Jakstys
Williams
Morillo
Zens
Click to expand...
Didn’t Vaaks just score 20 in 19 minutes, over 50% for the field. Based on that, I’d say he’s going to play a lot.
 
#378      
SCMART Illini
DeonThomas said:
I listened to the game, and then watched the highlights. Ready to predict our 2026-27 player scoring averages, assuming an 8-man rotation and no serious injuries:

17 Vaaks
17 Mirk
14 Andrej
9 Q
8 Tommy
6 Ethan Brown
6 Z
4 Jake
3 All Others
----
84 TEAM TOTAL (same as the Final 4 team last season)
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Is there a more complete highlight video than the one I watched, which was about 4 minutes with just music in the background? Or even better, a replay of the game somewhere?
 
#379      
blackdog
SCMART Illini said:
Is there a more complete highlight video than the one I watched, which was about 4 minutes with just music in the background? Or even better, a replay of the game somewhere?
Click to expand...

It's from the baseline but over 10 minutes of clips

www.wcia.com

HIGHLIGHTS: Illinois basketball wins exhibition at Cincinnati

CINCINNATI, Ohio (WCIA) – Illinois men’s basketball scored plenty in its first time back on the floor since the 2026 Final Four. The Illini beat Cincinnati 105-96 on Saturday at Fifth T…
www.wcia.com
 
#381      
RollChief
No one will believe me here but I swear I had a 6th sense feeling yesterday that we were about to get an MLT inquirer podcast. I think it’s a part of my circadian rhythm now. The CBB gods have blessed us today:

 
#382      
Epsilon
So the next game is on B1G+, and there are a couple more on it within the next month, but there is that outlier game against Seattle that forces the issue of whether it’s worth a whole month more of B1G+ for one quad four game. Ugh, so annoying, because I know I have to watch that game regardless.
 
#383      
RollChief
Epsilon said:
So the next game is on B1G+, and there are a couple more on it within the next month, but there is that outlier game against Seattle that forces the issue of whether it’s worth a whole month more of B1G+ for one quad four game. Ugh, so annoying, because I know I have to watch that game regardless.
Click to expand...
B1G+? More like B1G minus.

I'll be here all weekend.
 
#384      
ChiefGritty
Epsilon said:
So the next game is on B1G+, and there are a couple more on it within the next month, but there is that outlier game against Seattle that forces the issue of whether it’s worth a whole month more of B1G+ for one quad four game. Ugh, so annoying, because I know I have to watch that game regardless.
Click to expand...
Never watched a game on B1G+ and never will. Absolutely deplorable that they would treat their best customers that way.
 
#385      
IllGuardU
RollChief said:
No one will believe me here but I swear I had a 6th sense feeling yesterday that we were about to get an MLT inquirer podcast. I think it’s a part of my circadian rhythm now. The CBB gods have blessed us today:

Click to expand...
Sounds like L Davis might be an important piece this year
 
#386      
Epsilon
ChiefGritty said:
Never watched a game on B1G+ and never will. Absolutely deplorable that they would treat their best customers that way.
Click to expand...
No doubt. It’s like watching a high school game production. But I have a feeling I’m going to want to drink in this whole season nonetheless.
 
#388      
Fighter of the Nightman
Always a possibility I missed someone or made a mistake, but here are the ranked non-conference opponents for each Big Ten school now that the rankings are out! I'm only counting guaranteed opponents, not potential ranked matchups in tournaments and things like that. Just for fun and to round out the list a bit more, I included the top 10 teams in the Receiving Votes category ... but four of those were actually Big Ten teams, so it only adds six more. :ROFLMAO:


Michigan State
vs. #2 Duke (Chicago, IL)
at #8 Tennessee
vs. #12 Arkansas (Detroit, MI)
vs. #15 Gonzaga (Palm Desert, CA)

Ohio State
at #4 UConn
vs. #17 Kansas (New York, NY)
vs. #24 Vanderbilt
vs. #25 BYU (Salt Lake City, UT)

Illinois
at #2 Duke
vs. #4 UConn (Chicago, IL)
at #19 Texas Tech
vs. RV #26 Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
vs. RV #30 North Carolina (Nashville, TN)

Purdue
vs. #8 Tennessee
vs. #15 Gonzaga (Las Vegas, NV)
at #18 Iowa State

Indiana
vs. #12 Arkansas (New York, NY)
vs. #23 Kentucky (Indianapolis, IN)
vs. RV #26 Missouri

Iowa
vs. #18 Iowa State
vs. #20 Alabama (Des Moines, IA)
vs. RV #35 Virginia Tech (Sioux City, IA)

Michigan
vs. #4 UConn (Boston, MA)
vs. #11 Louisville (Detroit, MI)

Maryland
vs. #9 Virginia
vs. #8 Tennessee (Las Vegas, NV - Players Era)

UCLA
vs. #5 Arizona (Las Vegas, NV)
vs. #15 Gonzaga (Anaheim, CA)

Oregon
vs. #13 St. John's (NY) [Las Vegas, NV - Players Era]
vs. #11 Louisville / #19 Texas Tech (Las Vegas, NV - Players Era)

Northwestern
vs. #25 BYU (Salt Lake City, UT)
vs. RV #35 Virginia Tech (Charleston, SC)

Rutgers
vs. #10 Houston (Las Vegas, NV - Players Era)

USC
vs. #19 Texas Tech (Fort Worth, TX)

Washington
vs. #25 BYU (Maui)

Nebraska
N/A
vs. RV #26 Missouri (Kansas City, MO)

Minnesota
N/A

Penn State
N/A

Wisconsin
N/A

Who knew BYU was on a Big Ten tour. :ROFLMAO:
 
#389      
Guest
BlueFlag said:
B1G+ is good enough. If allows me more personal insight to our Fighting Illini basketball team for the upcoming season, I'm in.
Click to expand...
What I like about it is that one can watch all of last season’s games (and other seasons as well). I can get my fix while waiting for the current season to begin. I generally start in September and go straight through last year’s schedule (sans the losses). It’s interesting some of the things one forgets about individual games. And I can watch the Purdue and Missouri games as often as I want, which has been two times since September. It’s great seeing the Purdue fans watch Wagler score at will against them.
Though Big Ten Plus is so basic. And too much buffering.
 
#390      
jimbo72
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Always a possibility I missed someone or made a mistake, but here are the ranked non-conference opponents for each Big Ten school now that the rankings are out! I'm only counting guaranteed opponents, not potential ranked matchups in tournaments and things like that. Just for fun and to round out the list a bit more, I included the top 10 teams in the Receiving Votes category ... but four of those were actually Big Ten teams, so it only adds six more. :ROFLMAO:


Michigan State
vs. #2 Duke (Chicago, IL)
at #8 Tennessee
vs. #12 Arkansas (Detroit, MI)
vs. #15 Gonzaga (Palm Desert, CA)

Ohio State
at #4 UConn
vs. #17 Kansas (New York, NY)
vs. #24 Vanderbilt
vs. #25 BYU (Salt Lake City, UT)

Illinois
at #2 Duke
vs. #4 UConn (Chicago, IL)
at #19 Texas Tech
vs. RV #26 Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
vs. RV #30 North Carolina (Nashville, TN)

Purdue
vs. #8 Tennessee
vs. #15 Gonzaga (Las Vegas, NV)
at #18 Iowa State

Indiana
vs. #12 Arkansas (New York, NY)
vs. #23 Kentucky (Indianapolis, IN)
vs. RV #26 Missouri

Iowa
vs. #18 Iowa State
vs. #20 Alabama (Des Moines, IA)
vs. RV #35 Virginia Tech (Sioux City, IA)

Michigan
vs. #4 UConn (Boston, MA)
vs. #11 Louisville (Detroit, MI)

Maryland
vs. #9 Virginia
vs. #8 Tennessee (Las Vegas, NV - Players Era)

UCLA
vs. #5 Arizona (Las Vegas, NV)
vs. #15 Gonzaga (Anaheim, CA)

Oregon
vs. #13 St. John's (NY) [Las Vegas, NV - Players Era]
vs. #11 Louisville / #19 Texas Tech (Las Vegas, NV - Players Era)

Northwestern
vs. #25 BYU (Salt Lake City, UT)
vs. RV #35 Virginia Tech (Charleston, SC)

Rutgers
vs. #10 Houston (Las Vegas, NV - Players Era)

USC
vs. #19 Texas Tech (Fort Worth, TX)

Washington
vs. #25 BYU (Maui)

Nebraska
N/A
vs. RV #26 Missouri (Kansas City, MO)

Minnesota
N/A

Penn State
N/A

Wisconsin
N/A

Who knew BYU was on a Big Ten tour. :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
Nicely done. Good games for scouting our conference victims.
 
#391      
lstewart53x3
lstewart53x3 said:
Based on the exhibition game that doesn’t count and likely doesn’t tell us anything, here’s my guess for highest to lowest in minutes on the season:

Mirk
Andrej
QC
Tomi
J Davis
Brown
Vaaks
Z
L Davis
Jakstys
Williams
Morillo
Zens
Click to expand...
Got roasted for this comment for suggesting Jake could start with Vaaks coming off the bench. Just listened to the Werner/MLT podcast and they both suggested the same.
 
#392      
March2TheArch
lstewart53x3 said:
Got roasted for this comment for suggesting Jake could start with Vaaks coming off the bench. Just listened to the Werner/MLT podcast and they both suggested the same.
Click to expand...
Vaaks will start. Jake’s a quick processing, gritty player with a perpetual green light. BUT I wouldn’t necessarily call him a plus defender.

Did we all watch the same game? Vaaks had multiple tough finishes at the rim and is a flamethrower from deep. We’re going to be a fringe top 20 defense. We need all the O we can get.

I expect Vaaks, QC, Andrej, Mirk, and Tomi to start. Jake subs in for Andrej. Brown rotates with QC and Vaaks in the backcourt. Z rotates with Mirk and Z. Landon could steal some Z minutes.

Our starters will play 30min vs. a TTU/Duke/UConn. So leaves about 50min for Brown, Jake, and Z so about 15-20min per.

I do worry about Tomi and Z regressing for some odd reason. Hope they’re just taking exhibition lightly.

- - -

Can’t put my finger on it but the team doesn’t seem to have the same chemistry/connection we saw with the lovable bunch led last year by Keaton and Mirk… yet.
 
#393      
RollChief
March2TheArch said:
Did we all watch the same game? Vaaks had multiple tough finishes at the rim and is a flamethrower from deep. We’re going to be a fringe top 20 defense. We need all the O we can get.
Click to expand...
MLT talked about this but the argument with Jake starting is that Vaaks will obviously play a ton and brings firepower off the bench.

The big question mark right now with Vaaks (that are non-negotiables for playing time) is defense and rebounding. How much he plays, if he’ll start early on, etc depends on how much he can progress and improve in those categories.
 
#394      
IlliDan
March2TheArch said:
Vaaks will start. Jake’s a quick processing, gritty player with a perpetual green light. BUT I wouldn’t necessarily call him a plus defender.

Did we all watch the same game? Vaaks had multiple tough finishes at the rim and is a flamethrower from deep. We’re going to be a fringe top 20 defense. We need all the O we can get.

I expect Vaaks, QC, Andrej, Mirk, and Tomi to start. Jake subs in for Andrej. Brown rotates with QC and Vaaks in the backcourt. Z rotates with Mirk and Z. Landon could steal some Z minutes.

Our starters will play 30min vs. a TTU/Duke/UConn. So leaves about 50min for Brown, Jake, and Z so about 15-20min per.

I do worry about Tomi and Z regressing for some odd reason. Hope they’re just taking exhibition lightly.

- - -

Can’t put my finger on it but the team doesn’t seem to have the same chemistry/connection we saw with the lovable bunch led last year by Keaton and Mirk… yet.
Click to expand...
Could we wait for Mirk to play before we make this assertion?
 
#395      
skyIdub
lstewart53x3 said:
Got roasted for this comment for suggesting Jake could start with Vaaks coming off the bench. Just listened to the Werner/MLT podcast and they both suggested the same.
Click to expand...

It will 100% be predicated on defense.

I could def see it. Matchup based, defensive performance based.

Edit: I’ll add after those highlights, the confidence QC showed with the ball, along with Point Mirk will also play into not depending on Vaaks as a starting PG.
 
#396      
NarrowJ
I see value in not having all of the cooks in the kitchen at the same time. You need at least one low-usage connector on the court with a main unit. It’s why you’ve seen great individual scorers come off the bench for literal decades of basketball. Jake starting and Andrej coming off the bench and torching 2nd units worked pretty great for us last season, and just a staple of good basketball teams throughout history: having a capable scorer who can lead a 2nd unit and/or have minutes staggered with your other high-leverage offensive creators.
 
#397      
SummerofGeorge
IlliDan said:
Could we wait for Mirk to play before we make this assertion?
Click to expand...
March2TheArch said:
Vaaks will start. Jake’s a quick processing, gritty player with a perpetual green light. BUT I wouldn’t necessarily call him a plus defender.

Did we all watch the same game? Vaaks had multiple tough finishes at the rim and is a flamethrower from deep. We’re going to be a fringe top 20 defense. We need all the O we can get.

I expect Vaaks, QC, Andrej, Mirk, and Tomi to start. Jake subs in for Andrej. Brown rotates with QC and Vaaks in the backcourt. Z rotates with Mirk and Z. Landon could steal some Z minutes.

Our starters will play 30min vs. a TTU/Duke/UConn. So leaves about 50min for Brown, Jake, and Z so about 15-20min per.

I do worry about Tomi and Z regressing for some odd reason. Hope they’re just taking exhibition lightly.

- - -

Can’t put my finger on it but the team doesn’t seem to have the same chemistry/connection we saw with the lovable bunch led last year by Keaton and Mirk… yet.
Click to expand...
Never too early to start the hand wringing I guess. One exhibition game is the only thing you are basing this on? You may end up being right but seems way too soon for this when Mirk didn’t even play. Would have we predicted a final four run after last year’s first exhibition game? Probably not.
 
#398      
Illiniguy13
If...IF Vaaks would buy into a 6th-man role, I don't hate the idea of making the 2nd unit being the "Vaaks show" and letting him lean into his bread and butter as a volume scorer. He'd play plenty of minutes and could be the best 6th man in the country 🤷‍♂️
 
#399      
CoalCity
Illiniguy13 said:
If...IF Vaaks would buy into a 6th-man role, I don't hate the idea of making the 2nd unit being the "Vaaks show" and letting him lean into his bread and butter as a volume scorer. He'd play plenty of minutes and could be the best 6th man in the country 🤷‍♂️
Click to expand...
Volume scorer, best 6th man worked pretty well for Will Riley. And I would dare say Vaaks might be even better at it due to his physical maturity
 
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