Illinois Basketball: A top team awaits the Illini in the non-conference

A week ago today, the women’s Illinois basketball team cemented their non-conference schedule for the 2023-24 season.

Last season, the Illini managed to accomplish something that was a rarity for the program. We won 21 games in the regular season, won a Big Ten Tournament game, and made the NCAA tournament.

This run was something special for the Orange and Blue. Moving into the 2023-24 campaign, Illinois returns a lot of the talent that led us to such a great season the year before. In fact, in every statistical category, the Illini return at least 82% of the production.

That is going to help Illinois win a lot of games, especially in a non-conference slate that was finalized a week ago today.

Illinois basketball is going to have a few tough games in the 2023-24 non-conference schedule

I was happy with what the Illini non-conference looked like when it was finalized this past week. Illinois needed some cupcake games, but we also needed a few tests to see how good this team can be in 2023-24.

Four out of the nine non-conference games are against teams that finished below .500 last season. St. Peter’s (0-30), Central Connecticut State (7-22), Canisius (9-21), and Moorehead State (11-20) should all be victories for the Orange and Blue.

Illinois then has three decent teams that finished the regular season around .500 but failed to make the NCAA tournament. Northern Kentucky (17-14), Missouri (18-14), and Arkansas (24-13) all will be a bit of a test.

And then we get to the two big games of the non-conference. The second game of the season is on the road against Marquette. The Golden Eagles finished 2022-23 with a record of 21-11 and made the NCAA tournament as a No. 9 seed.

The monster of a game, and one that will truly show if Illinois is elite, is the game against Notre Dame. This is the Shamrock Classic in Washington D.C., so it won’t be at home. The Fighting Irish finished last season 25-5 and No. 10 in the country. They also made the Sweet 16.

Women’s Illinois basketball had one of the best seasons in program history last year, and I am ready for another great run to the postseason. The non-conference will not be easy, but I believe Illinois is prepared for the test.