Illinois Basketball vs Colgate Raiders: Gameday Guide and TV information

Illinois basketball will host Colgate inside the State Farm Center on Friday night, as the Illini look to improve to 4-0 on the young season following their monster non-conference win against the No. 11–ranked Texas Tech on Tuesday.

Date: Friday, November 14th
Time: 8:00 p.m. CST
Channel: BTN+
Line: Illinois -30.5

Colgate is not on the same caliber as Texas Tech, but it will be important for Illinois to avoid letting this become a trap game. Sandwiched between two top 15 matchups, the Illini can’t afford to treat this game any differently. Colgate gave Michigan State a scare in the season opener but ultimately fell 80–69.

The Raiders have been one of the strongest programs in the Patriot League over the past few years under head coach Matt Langel. They made the NCAA Tournament for five straight seasons before last year. In the preseason poll, they were projected to finish third in the conference behind Navy and Boston University.

Kylan Boswell will likely be tasked with guarding Colgate junior guard Jalen Cox. Cox played 15 minutes against Illinois when the teams met two years ago. He earned All-Patriot League Third Team honors last March and was selected to the preseason All-Patriot League team for the 2025–26 season.

“They’ve got a very good point guard who lives in paint”, said Brad Underwood.

New defensive coordinator Camryn Crocker spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Colgate under Matt Langel, helping the program reach multiple NCAA Tournaments. His familiarity with their system should provide Illinois an advantage.

Illinois basketball cruised to blowout wins in its two buy games this season, and a similar result is expected here. The Illini should dominate the glass against a Colgate team that ranks poorly in both offensive and defensive rebounding. The talent gap should simply be too much for the Raiders to overcome.

A win on Friday night would set up another massive top 15 non-conference matchup, this time against Alabama. The United Center in Chicago should be packed with Illinois fans cheering on the Illini as they look to remain undefeated.

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