Good Morning, Illini Nation: Knights and Quakers and Bearkats, oh my!
· Yahoo Sports
Jul. 12—Illinois' high-profile nonconference games (Texas Tech, Duke, Connecticut, Missouri and North Carolina) have all been announced. Unless that's not all of them. Based on other reported matchups, the Illini still have two open spots to fill among their now 12 nonconference games with college basketball moving to a 32-game schedule.
Those other nonconference matchups — all home games — have been reported by Rocco Miller, who contributes to the Field of 68 and Basket Under Review in addition to his own website .
Visit mchezo.co.za for more information.
Let's dive in to the five mid-major opponents that reportedly are headed to State Farm Center in November:
Fairleigh Dickinson, Nov. 2
The Knights are four years removed from shocking No. 1 Purdue as a No. 16 seed in the 2023 NCAA tournament. They've had diminishing returns since, with 15, 13 and 11 wins the past three seasons. The top five scorers from the 2025-26 team that went 11-21 and finished sixth in the Northeast Conference were all seniors. Sophomore guard David Jevtic is the top returning scorer (6.6 ppg). Former Gonzaga/Pepperdine forward Pavle Stosic was FDU's top pull in the transfer portal.
Pennsylvania, Nov. 5
Fran McCaffery back at State Farm Center might be the best thing ever. As long as the Orange Krush can find the "FranCon" sign. If not, time to get working on a replacement just in case the former Iowa coach turned second-year Penn leader blows his top. Illinois knocked off the Quakers 105-70 in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Penn returns several players from that team, including second-leading scorer TJ Power, while Notre Dame transfer Sir Mohammed is an intriguing portal addition.
Sam Houston, Nov. 13
Remember, it's Bearkats with a "k." Also, it's still Sam Houston State, but the athletic department would like everyone to drop the "State." Also, unfortunately, former Bearkats guard Po'Boigh King has exhausted his eligibility. King was also the leading scorer for Sam Houston's 22-12 team last season, and second-leading scorer Jacob Walker bolted for Oklahoma State. A few other departed seniors leaves several holes to fill. The backcourt of Justin Begg and Jacobe Coleman will have to carry this year's team.
Eastern Illinois, Nov. 20
Retention was only strong in parts of east central Illinois. More so Champaign than Charleston. Of the three key rotation players that could have returned for EIU, none of them did. Meechie White landed at Indiana State, Terry McMorris transferred to San Diego and Preston Turner chose Texas San Antonio. That leaves sophomore guard Markus Blackwell (3.9 ppg) the top returning player and former D-II point guard Jaden Miller, who averaged 8.3 assists last season at East Central University (Okla.) the best addition to the roster.
Winthrop, Nov. 23
The last (and only other) time Winthrop came to Champaign (also the only game in the series) Keon Johnson scored 38 points and the Eagles got an 84-80 overtime win at State Farm Center. The 2026-27 version of Winthrop likely doesn't have that kind of scorer on its roster after losing eight seniors from last year's team that went 23-11 and finished second in the Big South. IU Indy transfer guard Micah Davis and North Dakota transfer big man George Natsvlishvili project as the Eagles' top two players.