Illinois basketball game-by-game prediction of the 2026-27 season

The start of the 2026-27 Illinois basketball season is just days away, and we could be in for a special year.

Illinois is coming off a Final Four run that filled the veins of Illini fans with hope and promise for the future.

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That future is here. The likes of Keaton Wagler and Kylan Boswell are gone. Illinois’ next generation has arrived, and there is a lot of hype for the coming months.

I believe Illinois could be pretty special this season, but I will be the first to admit that the record I have for the Illini seems like it could be a reach. But I laid it all out, and at the end of the day, this is what I came up with.

In 2025-26, my prediction for Illinois was 25-6 overall and 16-4 in the Big Ten. We finished the regular season 24-7 overall and 15-5 in the Big Ten. So, I wasn’t too far off.

Here is the game-by-game prediction for the Illinois basketball 2026-27 season

#3 Illinois vs Fairleigh Dickinson – Monday, November 2

Fairleigh Dickinson wasn’t a good team last season, winning just 11 games and having three 30+ point losses against major programs. This is a good starting team for Illinois. We should be able to put up a number. It will be good to get the young guys gelling early, too.

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Final: Illinois 93 – Fairleigh Dickinson 58 (W) (1-0 overall, 0-0 Big Ten)

#3 Illinois vs Pennsylvania – Thursday, November 5

We get a rematch of the first round of the NCAA tournament in game two of the 2026-27 season. Penn won 18 games last season, which included the Ivy League tournament. As a No. 14 seed, the Quakers didn’t have a chance in the first round against No. 3 Illinois. We beat them by 35 points, and I don’t think the 2026-27 season should fare differently.

Final: Illinois 88 – Pennsylvania 68 (W) (2-0 overall, 0-0 Big Ten)

#3 Illinois at #19 Texas Tech – Tuesday, November 10

The hope is that by game three against Texas Tech, David Mirkovic will be at full speed. The Red Raiders will have a lot of firepower, including former Illini Dra…

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Publish date : 2026-10-29 23:10:00

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