Illini Basketball 2026-2027

#1      

Dan

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

Schedule | Tickets | Roster


Newcomer First Look Series by IlliniMBB
Ethan Brown
Quentin Coleman
Lincoln Williams
Stefan Vaaks
Landon Davis
Lucas Morillo
Zavier Zens



Illini Basketball 2026-2027
DateOpponentTime/TV
Sat, Oct 17at Cincinnati
(Exhibition Game)		6:00pm
Fri, Oct 23Baylor
(Exhibition Game)
Wed, Oct 28UIC
(Exhibition Game)
Mon, Nov 2FDU
Thu, Nov 5Penn
Tue, Nov 10at Texas Tech
Fri, Nov 13Sam Houston
Tue, Nov 17at Duke
Fri, Nov 20Eastern Illinois
Mon, Nov 23Winthrop
Fri, Nov 27Western Kentucky
Fri, Dec 4UConn
(Chicago)
Tue, Dec 8at Minnesota
Sat, Dec 12Penn State
Sun, Dec 20Missouri
(St. Louis)
Tue, Dec 29Seattle
Sat, Jan 2at Wisconsin
Tue, Jan 5Purdue
Sat, Jan 9Ohio State
Wed, Jan 13at Northwestern
Sat, Jan 16at Maryland
Tue, Jan 19Nebraska
Sun, Jan 24at Indiana
Wed, Jan 27USC
Sat, Jan 30North Carolina
(Nashville)
Tue, Feb 2UCLA
Fri, Feb 5Michigan State
Tue, Feb 9at Michigan
Fri, Feb 12at Purdue
Tue, Feb 16Northwestern
Sat, Feb 20at Oregon
Tue, Feb 23at Washington
Sun, Feb 28Wisconsin
Wed, Mar 3at Rutgers
Sat, Mar 6Iowa

All times CT



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
Not pictured: Quentin McCoy


Last year
Time & TV info was released on October 7th
 
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#6      
Kernal12
The stretch from Jan 19 through Feb 12 is a gauntlet, with UNC also plugged in between UCLA and USC. Conceivably could have a stretch of 8 straight games against ranked teams.

Not necessarily gimme games, but the front and back ends of the B10 schedule look pretty manageable.
 
#7      
Epsilon
Where does Miya have us? Can’t watch as traveling now.
 
#12      
HensonHall71
Kernal12 said:
The stretch from Jan 19 through Feb 12 is a gauntlet, with UNC also plugged in between UCLA and USC. Conceivably could have a stretch of 8 straight games against ranked teams.

Not necessarily gimme games, but the front and back ends of the B10 schedule look pretty manageable.
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Yeah, I wonder why they scheduled UNC in between two home games- just added an unnecessary road trip to the schedule
 
#14      
March2TheArch
HensonHall71 said:
Yeah, I wonder why they scheduled UNC in between two home games- just added an unnecessary road trip to the schedule
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It's not unncessary. We're plastered over national television playing brand new name programs. I'm sure our TV revenue figures into our program's ability to be financially competitive in these NIL times. The ability to tell recruits that they'll be showcased on national television with NBA scouts likely on hand in person is priceless.

Michigan's loss to Duke in a February non-con game likely helped them lock in for the tournament.
 
#15      
Second place is 1st loser
March2TheArch said:
It's not unncessary. We're plastered over national television playing brand new name programs. I'm sure our TV revenue figures into our program's ability to be financially competitive in these NIL times. The ability to tell recruits that they'll be showcased on national television with NBA scouts likely on hand in person is priceless.

Michigan's loss to Duke in a February non-con game likely helped them lock in for the tournament.
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Oddly enough, I think losing in the BTT helped them lock in more. It reset the mental attitude by giving them time to embrace the urgency. Helped us too.

From a marketing/recruiting perspective, I get it, but from a season benefit perspective, not so much.
 
#16      
March2TheArch
Second place is 1st loser said:
Oddly enough, I think losing in the BTT helped them lock in more. It reset the mental attitude by giving them time to embrace the urgency. Helped us too.

From a marketing/recruiting perspective, I get it, but from a season benefit perspective, not so much.
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Duke Michigan was a bit later in the season too. February 21st. Our game is late January, so I’ll concede that point of it providing fuel for March.

But 100% benefits us from a program visibility perspective.

Playing Duke, UConn, and UNC all in one season is amazing. I’ll live with a bit of scheduling challenges given a relatively soft start to the B1G season.
 
#17      
Fly Illini Fly!
I think Illinois’s defensive profile is most similar to the 2024 Purdue team (runner up, lost to UCONN).

2024 Purdue was 12th in defensive efficiency. 2026 Illinois was 20th in defensive efficiency. The individual stats between the two teams, are quite similar:

Rim attempt rate allowed: Purdue 5th | Illinois 4th

Mid-range attempt rate forced: Purdue 6th | Illinois 13th

Rim percentage allowed: Purdue 342nd | Illinois 166th

2pt percentage allowed: Purdue 61st | Illinois 38th

Free throw rate allowed: Purdue 4th | Illinois 1st

Forced Turnover rate: Purdue 341st | Illinois 365th

Opponent OREB% allowed: Purdue 15th | Illinois 27th

3pt attempt rate allowed: Purdue 171st | Illinois 310th

3pt percentage allowed: Purdue 43rd | Illinois 37th
 
#19      
Fly Illini Fly!
Second place is 1st loser said:
Oddly enough, I think losing in the BTT helped them lock in more. It reset the mental attitude by giving them time to embrace the urgency. Helped us too.

From a marketing/recruiting perspective, I get it, but from a season benefit perspective, not so much.
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This will always be the assumption, simply because we won in the tourney.

We also won the BTT in 2024, and made the E8 (losing to a juggernaut).

I don’t think losing in it helps. The ONLY way you could spin it helping us last year — not getting a 2seed meant we’d fall in Florida’s bracket.
 
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#22      
lstewart53x3
Illini Basketball Record Prediction 2026-2027

DateOpponentW/L
Sat, Oct 17at Cincinnati (Exhibition Game)N/A
Fri, Oct 23Baylor (Exhibition Game)N/A
Wed, Oct 28UIC (Exhibition Game)N/A
Mon, Nov 2Fairleigh DickinsonW
Thu, Nov 5PennW
Tue, Nov 10at Texas TechL
Fri, Nov 13Sam HoustonW
Tue, Nov 17at DukeL
Fri, Nov 20Eastern IllinoisW
Mon, Nov 23WinthropW
Fri, Nov 27Western KentuckyW
Fri, Dec 4UConn (Chicago)W
Tue, Dec 8at MinnesotaW
Sat, Dec 12Penn StateW
Sun, Dec 20Missouri (St. Louis)W
Tue, Dec 29SeattleW
Sat, Jan 2at WisconsinW
Tue, Jan 5PurdueW
Sat, Jan 9Ohio StateW
Wed, Jan 13at NorthwesternW
Sat, Jan 16at MarylandW
Tue, Jan 19NebraskaW
Sun, Jan 24at IndianaL
Wed, Jan 27USCW
Sat, Jan 30North Carolina (Nashville)W
Tue, Feb 2UCLAW
Fri, Feb 5Michigan StateW
Tue, Feb 9at MichiganL
Fri, Feb 12at PurdueL
Tue, Feb 16NorthwesternW
Sat, Feb 20at OregonW
Tue, Feb 23at WashingtonW
Sun, Feb 28WisconsinW
Wed, Mar 3at RutgersW
Sat, Mar 6IowaW

27-5. 1 seed. 17-3 B1G. Champs.
 
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