Illinois Basketball Announces Non-Conference Schedule!

Illinois Basketball Announces Non-Conference Schedule!

As the month of August is halfway done, College athletics is almost back. July and August are always rough months because there really is not any sports going on. However, Illinois Football is fast approaching their home opener against Toledo. Illinois Basketball has just returned from an overseas trip from Spain. Most recently, their non-conference schedule has just been announced. Typically, Illinois Basketball has some fun games planned. For example, this past season, where they played UCLA, Virginia and Texas. They have recently played teams like Arizona, Grand Canyon, Syracuse and more.

This season, there are a few marquee matches and then a few randomly challenging mid-majors.

Your 2023 non-conference schedule.

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— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) August 17, 2023

The Opener

Illinois Basketball opens on October 20th with an exhibition against Ottawa.  They then will play Eastern Illinois for a regular season opener. The big-time matchup is on Tuesday, November 14th. Illinois Basketball will try to get revenge against a very good Marquette team. Shaka Smart and the Golden Eagles beat Illinois two years ago in painstaking fashion, and project as one of the best teams in the country this year.

Illinois will also play Colgate on November 27th. Colgate may not sound like a powerhouse, but they have made the NCAA tournament the past five years. 

A tough stretch to end the slate

Illinois Basketball will finish their non-conference game with a slew of very difficult games. They play Florida Atlantic, Tennessee and Missouri all in a row in neutral or road venues. Florida Atlantic just made the final four and return most of that team. Tennessee has been at the top of the SEC the past few years under Rick Barnes and will be talented. Missouri seems to have found life under second year-coach, Dennis Gates. The Tigers also pimp slapped Illinois into the 1970’s last year and will arguably be out for more.

To cap it all off, Illinois plays Farleigh Dickinson on Friday December 29th. Farleigh Dickinson was most recently the story of the NCAA tournament, as they beat Purdue as a 16th seed. Though their coach has left, they should be formidable.

As always, Brad Underwood schedules a tough non-conference squad. With a team looking to still establish their Identity, Illinois is in for a huge test. They should be up for it.