Illini Basketball 2026-2027
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Okay, it's time to get serious about this. Announcing the "Illinois Loyalty National Ninth Man of the Year" award.
First we will establish a committee of Loyalty members who have expressed the most concern about our deficiencies in this area. They will conduct an exhaustive study of the performances of the ninth man of each of the 300+ division 1 teams to truly find the best one.
They will also be tasked with establishing the criteria for being a ninth man. Will it be ninth most minutes played? ninth most points scored? ninth best +/-? Maybe each school could nominate who they feel is their ninth man.
For the actual award, I suggest a piece of shellacked, flame etched, pine board. Very classy.
As for who the award should be named after, that will be difficult. It would be really hard to determine the best ninth man in NCAA history. Since this IS an Illinois based award, I think it's fair to name it after an Illini player. Was Lucas Johnson a ninth man? At the very least, determining the best ninth man in Illinois history would be a fun debate.
The floor is open for nominations for the board chair and committee members.
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I think this will last until the games get tougher.Chicago to Louisville is the same as St. Louis; maybe even closer; add just over an hour to Minny. Both Omaha & Pittsburgh are only 45 minutes farther than Minneapolis. And from Champaign, Minneapolis is the farthest.
Bingo. It'll work great vs FD and Penn. Let's see what Tech looks like on the road. Have we heard the term "elite" in the last week? We're due.
Epsilon
M tipping over
- Pdx
If there ever was a team where I believed him…, but I also think BU is a creature of habit.
“Other predicted Final Four teams
Illinois
Illinois is beginning the season a little banged up. But it's not how you start, it's how you finish. With four of the top 100 And 1 players, including CBS Sports preseason first-team All-American David Mirkovic, the Illini are poised to follow up their 2026 Final Four run with a repeat trip. Five players from last year's rotation are back, including the towering Ivisic brothers and wing Andrej Stojakovic, who shined in the NCAA Tournament. Between those three and Mirkovic, Illinois will again tower over the opposition. While guards Kylan Boswell and Keaton Wagler are gone, coach Brad Underwood landed high-caliber replacements. Five-star freshman Quentin Coleman and Providence transfer Stefan Vaaks are the headliners of the overhauled back court. Coleman was great during Illinois' exhibition slate. Three-star freshman Ethan Brown is going to make an impact, too, and will help keep the floor spaced as a great shooter. This program got a taste of the big stage last April, and it's got every ingredient needed to get there again.”
Epsilon
M tipping over
- Pdx
I know it’s a tongue in cheek question but we have sever legit solid players deep in the roster that would compete for that spot. I’m gonna assume Lincoln Williams is in the rotation but deeper, but we also have Jakstys, Morillo, Zens, and L Davis competing for the10th spot, all of whom showed promise in the exhibitions. I’m assuming the rotation would include (not necessarily trying to rank them, just listing them to keep things straight):
1. Mirk
2. Stoj
3. QC
4. SV
5. EB
6. TI
7. JD
8. ZI
9. LW
10. One of:
A. Jakstys
B. Zens
C. Morillo
D. L Davis
What an embarrassment of riches!
Joel Goodson
- 9th man conundrum
10th man conundrum?
Lincoln Williams is going to get A LOT of minutes, guessing 8th man.
Epsilon
M tipping over
- Pdx
Yeah the numbers are there for counting not ranking. But I agree with your comment.
Wow and we thought we had problems figuring out who the 9th man was going to be. Homework just got a lot more difficult.
He’s not likely to play over Vaaks, Coleman, Andrej, Brown, Mirk, Tomi, Z, Jake.
But it’s hard to imagine we won’t need his defensive impact at some point. We saw Sencire Harris make a significant impact despite being limited offensively.
Joel Goodson
- 9th man conundrum
Will Leitch for the win:
Actually he’s been the most willing to change of any coach I’ve followed. Changed his defensive philosophy. Has thrown out last years offense despite its historic success. Among the earliest and best with the portal. Leaned into international players and now has leaned the other way.
7 games on Peacock and some of the best ones. This is crazy. One of the best teams in the country and they are pushed to Peacock! You gotta be kiddingWelcome to the Illini Basketball thread
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Illini Basketball 2026-2027
Date Opponent Time/TV Mon, Nov 2 FDU 7:00pm BTN Thu, Nov 5 Penn 7:30pm FS1 Tue, Nov 10 at Texas Tech 7:00pm Peacock/NBCSN Fri, Nov 13 Sam Houston 6:00pm B1G+ Tue, Nov 17 at Duke 6:00pm ESPN Fri, Nov 20 Eastern Illinois 8:00pm BTN Mon, Nov 23 Winthrop 7:00pm BTN Fri, Nov 27 Western Kentucky 5:00pm FS1 Fri, Dec 4 UConn
(Chicago)6:00pm FOX Tue, Dec 8 at Minnesota 6:00pm Peacock/NBCSN Sat, Dec 12 Penn State 1:00pm FS1 Sun, Dec 20 Missouri
(St. Louis)6:30pm ESPN2 Tue, Dec 29 Seattle 6:00pm B1G+ Sat, Jan 2 at Wisconsin 7:00pm FOX Tue, Jan 5 Purdue 8:00pm Peacock/NBCSN Sat, Jan 9 Ohio State 3:00pm CBS Wed, Jan 13 at Northwestern 8:00pm BTN Sat, Jan 16 at Maryland 1:00pm Peacock/NBCSN Tue, Jan 19 Nebraska 8:00pm Peacock/NBCSN Sun, Jan 24 at Indiana 11:00am CBS Wed, Jan 27 USC 8:00pm BTN Sat, Jan 30 North Carolina
(Nashville)5/5:30pm ESPN Tue, Feb 2 UCLA 8:00pm Peacock/NBCSN Fri, Feb 5 Michigan State 7:00pm FOX Tue, Feb 9 at Michigan 6:00pm Peacock/NBCSN Fri, Feb 12 at Purdue 7:00pm FOX Tue, Feb 16 Northwestern 8:00pm BTN Sat, Feb 20 at Oregon 4:00pm FOX Tue, Feb 23 at Washington 9:00pm FS1 Sun, Feb 28 Wisconsin 12:30pm CBS Wed, Mar 3 at Rutgers 5:30pm BTN Sat, Mar 6 Iowa 7:00pm FOX
All times CT
I haven't seen in any of the exhibition games that Tomi is better than last year. Poor defense, a freshman guard has led the team in rebounding.
From what we have seen with him and our teams weaknesses so far, you could have this weird situation where he gets more time against the best teams due to elite guards especially if vaaks struggles defensively.
That is music to my ears. Wear teams down with our depth.
Joel Goodson
- 9th man conundrum
imagine if he had a clue
One more positive to note:
All the people for the last 5 years saying we don’t run any set plays will finally be right
You are 100% right. I’ll still believe it when I see it that Brad plays 10 guys. Well with the 9th and 10th guys getting extended tick at least.
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