The Illinois basketball season is fast approaching, and this has me looking at the upcoming non-conference slate.
Illinois starts the season off with a matchup at home against Nicholls State. This should be a nice warmup game for the rest of the non-conference, which has been talked about as being tough. But is it as tough as some people are saying, and how does it compare to years past for the Orange and Blue?
On Friday, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweeted out that he was leaving the Grand Canyon practice with a big-picture thought. That thought was Illinois will have its hands full with the Antelopes on November 8 when the two go against each other. He also mentions it is a tough opening weekend with a road game against Grand Canyon and Arizona.
Is the non-conference as tough Rothstein is projecting, though? Yes, Grand Canyon could be improved, but they are still Grand Canyon and Illinois should win here. I am looking at the full schedule right now and the only ranked team we play is Arizona, who is pegged as the preseason No. 16 team in the nation.
Big picture thought leaving Grand Canyon practice: Illinois will have its hands full on 11/8. Really tough opening weekend for the Illini with a pair of road games at GCU and Arizona.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) September 27, 2019
Illinois does play a handful of power programs. Arizona, Miami (FL) and Missouri are the only big-time programs we are playing that aren’t in the Big Ten. That isn’t exactly a non-conference that has me quaking.
How does this upcoming schedule compare to years past? Last season, Illinois played one ranked team – Gonzaga No. 3 – and six power programs. I would say Illinois has an easier route this season than they did last year.
The 2017-2018 non-conference was a joke. The fact we didn’t run through that non-conference saddens me. We didn’t play a single ranked team and only matched up against two power programs. That was such an ugly season.
Those are the non-conference schedules Illinois has faced since Brad Underwood has been handed the reigns. I will be curious to see how the Illini fare. This is the best team, by far, I have seen during his tenure and one of the easiest non-conference schedules. This should be a good year for the Orange and Blue.