Highlights from Illini men’s basketball’s Big Ten schedule

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The moment you’ve all been waiting for is finally here, basketball fans.

Illinois’s 2026-27 campaign is officially set in stone, with the schedule fully laid out.

Now that we know when and where the Illini will be playing their conference games, let’s take a look at some of the highlights from their Big Ten schedule.

Big Ten Opener: at Minnesota on Tuesday, Dec. 8

The Illini play their first two conference games in early December before taking a near-month break from Big Ten opponents.

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First up, the Big Ten opener is in Minneapolis against the Golden Gophers.

Next, the first Big Ten game at the State Farm Center is just four days later on Dec. 12, against the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Home-and-homes: Wisconsin, Northwestern, Purdue

Each team in the Big Ten has three different opponents that they’ll play both on their home floor and on the road.

For the Illini, these teams feel all too familiar.

Their first game back following the bulk of non-conference play will be on the road against the Wisconsin Badgers, who then come to Champaign in late February.

Illinois will certainly be looking forward to these ones, as Wisconsin got the better of them twice last season, once in the regular season and once in the Big Ten Tournament.

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The Northwestern Wildcats are next on the list of home-and-homes, with the in-state rivalry adding fuel to the fire in these matchups.

Illini head coach Brad Underwood’s squad will head up I-57 to Evanston on Jan. 13, before hosting head coach Chris Collins’s Wildcats on Feb. 16.

Last but not least are the new-look Purdue Boilermakers, who will be without the likes of Braden Smith, Trey Kauffman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer for the first time in a long time.

One of the more heavily anticipated games on the home schedule will likely be when the Boilermakers come to State Farm Center on Jan. 5.

On Feb. 12, the Illini will travel to West Lafayette to play Purdue at the infamously-raucous Mackey Arena, but we all remember what…

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Publish date : 2026-09-17 16:07:00

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