Man… Duke, Bama, Tennessee & Mizzou? Awesome.
Illini Basketball
Govoner Vaugn Fan
- New Orleans
Looking at the non-con schedule Brad is putting together, I am guessing he has a high degree of confidence that Illinois will put a high quality team on the court in 24-25.
Illinicpa14
- Chicago
agree - especially as looks like the big ten on paper isn’t going to have a ton of top 10-15 teams to get obvious Q1 home games.
TheDukeUIUC
- Twin Cities, MN
This one particularly feels like he's expecting monster things from the 25-26 team. Going to Birmingham this year is a no-lose situation with all the turnover this off-season. We win, great we're ahead of schedule; we lose, so what we're still gelling. Lining up Alabama in the UC the following season, though, with JF and a returning core, could be a massive event.
Great, now my wife and in laws get potential bball bragging rights over my as well…football season is bad enough
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
I am not going to read too much into the timing of where the games are located and when. It is likely much easier logistically to line up Birmingham this year and then Chicago in a year from now, given the coming season is only months away. The UC is likely harder to book for the upcoming season compared to Birmingham. I expect great things from the Illini in both upcoming seasons.
Time to up your NIL collective donationGreat, now my wife and in laws get potential bball bragging rights over my as well…football season is bad enough
I love this because I don't expect us to be the most talented team in the conference like we were last year. This schedule will make us battle hardened later in the year when it matters. And we just need to win one or two of these big games to buoy our resume for March. Classic Izzo type stuff.
*Also, as an ad guy, I can't help but look at this as a brand positioning tactic. By scheduling these types of games, we're continuing to reinforce our position as one of the nation's ELITE programs.
*Also, as an ad guy, I can't help but look at this as a brand positioning tactic. By scheduling these types of games, we're continuing to reinforce our position as one of the nation's ELITE programs.
Very nice! As a Bama/Illini fan I will have no clue what to do but really excited to see them hook up. I think Bama probably comes in preseason number 1 if Mark Sears returns. Oats has killed it with his recruiting class and in the portal.
There is a such thing as over scheduling. When bringing in an entirely new roster, not sure this is great. I know he wants to establish the "we'll play anyone at anytime" mentality, but maybe this wasn't the year to stack the schedule. This is one of those, just find a win somewhere and don't lose them all, scenarios.
Good point! My opinion is that we will probably not start out as the most cohesively talented teams in the BIG but if we add a center piece in the coming weeks, I like our chances of competing for a conference championship when it is all said and done. I'm not waiting for next year.
Great game because stadium is 1/2 Illini and 1/2 Mizzou
students home for holidays, both bands are there
I will never forget 1989 game in Checkerdome when Nick, Kenny, Kendall, Steve and Lowell pressed full court entire game as we came back from down 18 points. That was when I kneew the 88-89 flying Illini were going to be special.
https://www.news-gazette.com/sports...cle_3fa57d70-ae80-5e11-af10-4091b5b9d628.html
blackdog
- Champaign
As someone said before there isn't really any downside to losing quad 1 games on the road and at neutral sites. It seems worth it to throw your guys into a bunch of those types of games early. Build experience playing in tough games and reap a lot of benefits if you win with no real drawbacks to losing. I think simply having the experience of playing in those types of games are better than beating up some quad 3/4 team.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Awesome to be back at the UC.
My one quibble is that with Birmingham being such a meaningless place to hold the game (that's just a Bama home game in a lesser facility and environment), we're better off just having the return game in Tuscaloosa because of how the NET system treats true road games versus neutral sites.
There really isn't anymore. The committee does not punish you for losing lots of tough games. Ugly records not only get in they get seeded in accordance with who they have beaten. Take as many shots at Quad 1's as you can get.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
It would definitely be better for Illinois in that case, but Alabama might be thinking of it in a similar sense the opposite way. A "neutral site" game in Birmingham is optimal for Alabama in the NET system (especially if Illinois hovers in the 30's NET rank). It almost ensures that the game will be a Quad 1 matchup for Alabama. Not to mention, having the game in a neutral location offers more opportunities for ticket revenue, as the game would not likely be included in season ticket packages, and I doubt that this one game would eat into their number of home games.
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The complete opposite of football scheduling
Heck I’d take any kind of threat between 9 and 15 feet.
Obviously you have a ton of teams in the Big10 now so you're only playing a couple teams twice but on paper the Big10 looks a lot more talented than last year.
Indiana and Michigan have had great off seasons. USC has had a very good portal and UCLA is retooling after a down year.
I thats potentially 4 teams that could be in the top 10-15. Then you have Izzo lurking and Rutgers pulled in a couple talented freshmen.
I personally don't buy any Purdue hype. They've lost 3 of their 4 best players including Edey who covered up a ton of deficiencies. Then they have no portal additions and are bringing in 6 freshman (currently over signed by 1).
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
The teams that don't have large roster turnover haven't yet adjusted to the new world of NIL. Most top tier teams will have significant roster turnover from last year. I feel confident that the 5-6 players BU/Illinos has brought in are more skilled then the 5-6 that left.
OrangeBlue98
- Des Moines, IA
NEVER move Bragging Rights away from St. Louis. Even when one or both teams are not good, it’s still one of the best non-conference environments in college basketball.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL