Top Big Ten matchups for Illinois men’s basketball

By Sahil Mittal, Senior Sports Reporter • September 26, 2024

Junior guard Ty Rodgers holds onto the ball as Northwestern makes an effort to steal it away on Jan. 2.

Illinois men’s basketball released its Big Ten conference schedule last week, adding to an already strong slate of non-conference games that includes four top 25 teams: Alabama, Duke, Tennessee and Arkansas. The Illini will play 14 of the Big Ten’s 18 teams once but will take on Michigan State, Northwestern and Wisconsin twice.

A Dec. 6 matchup at Northwestern will be Illinois’ kickoff to the conference schedule. Also included in their Big Ten schedule this season for the first time are UCLA and USC, and the Illini will play both teams at the State Farm Center in Champaign this season.

Clearly, the four top 25 opponents on Illinois’ non-conference schedule will all be must-watch games. However, the conference schedule also has its fair share of intriguing matchups. Here are some of the most important Big Ten games for head coach Brad Underwood and Illinois this season that fans should keep an eye on.

Jan. 14: Illinois at Indiana

Sharpshooting wing Luke Goode won’t make a return to Champaign this season, but Illinois will travel to Bloomington, Indiana, to take on the new Hoosier and his team. Transfer big man Oumar Ballo will be an intriguing matchup for freshman center Tomislav Ivisic and freshman forward Morez Johnson Jr. with his very physical 7-foot and 265-pound frame. Returner Malik Reneau (6-foot-9, 232 pounds), Indiana’s highest scorer last season, will also be a physical force for the Illini to deal with. Overall, head coach Mike Woodson has an experienced roster, with six of his 13 players being seniors, that should give a new and relatively young Illinois roster a good test.

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Feb. 5: Illinois at Rutgers

Rutgers has two of the country’s top freshmen this year, guards Airious Bailey and Dylan Harper; they are both projected top-five picks in the 2025 NBA Draft. Illinois, in their own right, has a talented freshman tandem in guard Kasparas Jakucionis and forward Will Riley. These two are also projected to be first-round picks in the next draft, albeit later in the first round. A battle of the freshmen will be an intriguing preview of how the four players could match up at the next level. With Illinois having a very talented level of multi-level scorers, will Bailey and Harper be able to carry the Rutgers offense and stay close to Illinois?

Feb. 11: Illinois versus UCLA

Did someone say Skyy Clark? The former Illini will make his first appearance at the State Farm Center since leaving the program midway through the 2022-23 season. Clark transferred to UCLA ahead of this season after spending last year at Louisville, where he was teammates with new Illini junior guard Tre White. UCLA’s roster was overhauled this offseason. After having eight freshmen last year, the program brought in six transfers with a combined 14 years of college experience, giving the team the veteran leadership it desperately lacked to win more games. They also have two four-star freshman guards, Trent Perry and Eric Freeny, along with six returners, giving them a deep roster that should make for a competitive game with an Illinois team with good depth.

March 7: Illinois versus Purdue

What will Purdue look like post-Zach Edey? Head coach Matt Painter must figure that out, but he still has a talented group of players to work with this season. Returning junior guards Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer are still some of the best backcourts in the country and will be a strong matchup for Jakucionis and junior guard Kylan Boswell right before the postseason. In the paint, Purdue will pose a challenge for Illinois. Even with the 7-foot-4 Edey leaving for the NBA, Painter is locked and loaded this season with another 7-foot-4 center in freshman Daniel Jacobsen. Returning junior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, who is 6-foot-9 and 230 pounds, is also a physical force that will see a massive jump in minutes. Whether Painter runs lineups with Jacobsen or Kaufman as the primary big man, Illinois’ big men, Ivisic, Johnson and Booth, will have steep competition down low.

You can view the complete 2024-25 Illinois men’s basketball schedule below:

Nov. 4 – Eastern Illinois

Nov. 8 – SIU-Edwardsville

Nov. 13 – Oakland

Nov. 20 – at Alabama (in Birmingham)

Nov. 23 – Maryland-Eastern Shore

Nov. 25 – Little Rock

Nov. 28 – Arkansas (in Kansas City, Thanksgiving Hoops Showcase)

Dec. 6 – at Northwestern

Dec. 10 – Wisconsin

Dec. 14 – Tennessee

Dec. 22 – Missouri (in St. Louis, Braggin’ Rights)