Illinois basketball isn’t shying away from the tough early games, as Texas Tech was ranked No. 16 in the country.
What we saw on Tuesday night was the Red Raiders coming out and punching the No. 3 team in the mouth. Illinois went to the mat, and in the second half, we got up and fought back.
This was an early battle in the season, and it showed what the Illini were made of. Even with the loss to Texas Tech, Brad Underwood didn’t show any lack of confidence in his program in the postgame press conference.
“We are definitely good enough,” Underwood said with a smile, “I mean, that is a good basketball team, and both of us at some point will get some of our best players back.”
Illinois went into halftime down 20 points. That deficit narrowed to single digits with just under 11 minutes to go. We were down just one point with under six minutes left.
Underwood managed to guide his team through the adversity, despite missing preseason first-team All-American David Mirkovic and Illinois’ best three-point shooter from last season, Jake Davis.
Even with those two huge pieces missing, the Illini still had opportunities to go on the road and knock off a top-20 Red Raiders team.
“We have scheduled these games for a reason. To go on the road, in incredible environments, and play. You don’t get these in neutral sites. We rallied. We showed up. We competed. We made plays. We chipped away. We didn’t panic in the second half.”
Underwood saw what most Illinois fans saw in the second half against Texas Tech. A resilient team that is going to fight until the very end. This clearly has boosted his confidence in his program and what they can accomplish this season.
Illinois basketball doesn’t have much time to rest before another massive matchup
This was a great stress test for the Illini. Just three games into the 2026-27 season, we went on the road in a tough environment against one of the top teams in the country.
Illinois isn’t going to get a myriad of cupcake games to rest on after this defeat, though. While Sam Houston State is next on Friday night, the following game is next Tuesday against No. 2 Duke.
Much like the Texas Tech game, this game is also on the road. Illinois travels to Cameron Indoor Stadium for the matchup, which is arguably the toughest place to play in all of college basketball.
I am in favor of Illinois playing these tough games on the road to begin the season. Playing these great teams isn’t about our record in November, December, January, and February. It is about preparing for what is to come in March and April.
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