Illinois Fighting Illini Announce Non-Conference Basketball Schedule

Zachary Draves | Aug 21, 2024

Mar 23, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood leaves the court after the game against the Duquesne Dukes in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at CHI Health Center Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

The Illinois men's basketball team officially released their non-conference schedule for tis season on Tuesday.

They play 11 non-conference matchups with nine of them being against prior NCAA Tournament participants. The Fighting Illini kick things off Nov. 4 against Eastern Illinois. They have two additional home games against SIU-Edwardsville on Nov. 8 and Oakland on Nov. 13.

From there, the competition becomes more intense.

They make there first road trip to Birmingham to take on Alabama in the C.M. Newton Classic on Nov. 20. Last year the Crimson Tide made the Final Four.

A week before Thanksgiving, Illinois arrives back home to play two games in three days. They play Maryland-Eastern Shore on Nov. 23 followed by Arkansas-Little Rock.

Then they will play before a nationally televised audience against the Arkansas Razorbacks in Kansas City on Thanksgiving Day Nov. 28. The game is on CBS at 3 p.m. CST after the conclusion of the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions game.

On Dec. 14, the Fighting Illini take on Tennessee at home. Both teams are coming off an Elite Eight appearance. Then they conclude the calendar year with a matchup against Chicago State on Dec. 29.

Their final non-conference matchup is the highly touted game against Duke in the SentinelOne Classic at Madison Square Garden. The game is scheduled for Feb 22 on Fox. The Blue Devils are also coming off an Elite Eight appearance.

The conference schedule will be released at a later date.

Zachary Draves is a contributor to Illinois Fighting Illini On SI. He can be reached at zdraves1013@gmail.com and on Instagram @zdraves0633.

Follow our coverage and updates on Facebook

X: @IlliniNowOnSI