How Many Times Will Illinois Basketball Play on the West Coast?

How Many Times Will Illinois Basketball Play on the West Coast?

The Big Ten conference added some new teams to its array of schools. USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington have drifted away from the PAC-12 and will join the Big Ten in both basketball and football. All four schools are solid brands, however, the fit will take some getting used to. It is strange that Midwest and East Coast schools will have to travel all the way to the West Coast to play some games in both sports. Per release, Illinois basketball will have to make that trip to the West Coast twice during conference play.

The Illini will have to travel to Oregon and Washington for away games. Additionally, they will host USC and UCLA for home games at some point during the season. That means that new UCLA guard, Skyy Clark, will play in front of the State Farm Center crowd one more time.

Big Ten opponents are set.#Illini | #HTTO | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/I3bOMpVjGH

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) May 1, 2024

The rest of the Schedule?

Outside of the former Pac-12 schools, Illinois had a decent draw in terms of their home/away’s and away games. The teams that they will play twice are Michigan State, Northwestern and Wisconsin. That is a solid test for Illinois Basketball without having to play the powerhouse, Purdue, twice. Despite wanting some simpler games on the schedule, you do need resume builders and Illinois Basketball will have plenty of that. Additionally, they only play their arch-nemesis, Penn State, once at home in Champaign.

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