The men’s Illinois basketball team has had one of the best offseasons in the country, with five of their key players from last season committing to return to the program. <\/p>\n
Brad Underwood and the Illini <\/a>are poised to make another deep run<\/a> in the NCAA tournament in 2026-27, with multiple sources ranking them as a top-10 team in their way-too-early rankings.<\/a><\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Illinois will look to build upon their successes from last season after reaching their first Final Four since 2004-05. According to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, they will reportedly have to go through the UConn Huskies again in order to get there.<\/p>\n The Huskies, led by head coach Dan Hurley, have become a perennial powerhouse in college basketball over the past number of years. They are one of the premier teams to beat since Hurley took over, recording a 72.6% winning percentage while winning two championships over the past eight seasons.<\/p>\n The Illini will be facing off against coach Hurley and Co. for the third time in two seasons at the United Center, with their last meeting being a 71-62 loss on April 4, 2026, in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament. <\/a><\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Illinois basketball will look to exact revenge in their homeland this winter against the powerhouse UConn Huskies<\/p>\n A date with Hurley is slowly becoming a regular occurrence for the Illini, with Underwood’s bunch scheduling the Huskies as a way to gear up for March. It is a smart idea on paper that, sadly, has not worked out for them in the win column.<\/p>\n Thankfully, Illinois’ retention has been absolutely stellar, with Andrej Stojakovic, David Mirkovic<\/a>, Jake Davis, and both Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic<\/a> committing to return to the program. Not only that, but they will also have five-star recruit Quentin Coleman and four-star Lucas Morillo being added to the mix.<\/p>\n This will not be a cake walk for the Illini, as the Huskies will be bringing back five members of last year’s squad, which includes guards Solo Ball and Silas Demary Jr.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Regardless of that, the point here is that Illinois is in a great spot to get over that UConn hump from a year ago. They will have a unit that’s entering its second year together and is already familiar with the system that Underwood runs.<\/p>\n It won’t be an easy feat, because you can never overlook a Hurley-led program, but win or lose, this game is going to be must-watch TV for college basketball fans across the country.<\/p>\n Let’s just pray that they’re both at full strength by December, and that nothing catastrophic happens.<\/p>\n