Ranking Every Game on Illinois Basketball’s 2026-27 Non-Conference Schedule

On Friday, Illinois released its full 2026-27 non-conference slate, which wound up filling out the maximum number of allotted contests (12). The Illini took full advantage of the NCAA allowing an extra game for each school next season: including Big Ten play, the Illini will have 32 regular-season outings. Below, we rank each non-conference clash on Illinois’ schedule:

Ranking Illinois basketball’s 2026-27 non-conference matchups

Apr 4, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood reacts against the Connecticut Huskies in the second half during a semifinal of the Final Four of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

No. 12: Fairleigh Dickinson (Nov. 2)

Fairleigh Dickinson, which pulled off the miraculous 16-over-1 upset against Purdue in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, has yet to surpass the .500 mark under coach Jack Castleberry, who is entering his fourth season at the helm.

No. 11: Eastern Illinois (Nov. 20)

In a similar boat as FDU, Eastern Illinois hasn’t finished the regular season above .500 since 2019-20 – and it hasn’t won 10 or more games in OVC play since 2009-2010.

Advertisement

No. 10: Winthrop (Nov. 23)

After rattling off two straight 20-win seasons (exactly 23-11 in back-to-back years), Winthrop returns just 9.9 percent of its total player minutes from 2025-26, per Bart Torvik.

No. 9: Sam Houston State (Nov. 13)

In three of the past four seasons, Sam Houston State has won at least 20 games. But it also brings back minimal production from 2025-26 (only 28.5 percent of its minutes).

No. 8: Seattle (Dec. 29)

Jan 2, 2026; Spokane, Washington, USA; Seattle U Redhawks head coach Chris Victor paces the sideline during a game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the second half at McCarthey Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Chris Victor has overseen Seattle’s return to the WCC, and also four 20-win campaigns in…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/ranking-every-game-illinois-basketballs-030004173.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-08-22 03:00:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.