Scared money don't make money, and that is the phrase Brad Underwood must be living by going into next season. Illinois is coming off its first Final Four appearance since 2005 and came up just short against UConn, but it doesn't feel like the Illini were just a one-hit wonder.
Sure, Illinois will be without breakout star Keaton Wagler, who came to Champaign as just a three-star recruit and turned into the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and the No. 5 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. A lot changes without Wagler on the court, but Underwood was able to keep some key players at Illinois, added a top player from the transfer portal, and has a stellar freshman class coming in.
The time is now for Illinois, and Underwood is doing everything possible to get the Illini not just back to the Final Four next season, but one game further to the National Championship. Before Underwood can think of the NCAA Tournament, he must get through the regular season, which starts with non-conference play, and what better way to prepare for the postseason than playing the teams that will likely be there.
"We want to play high-level games," Underwood said in a recent media availability. "There's nobody a bigger advocate of great competition, high-level games. They don't hurt you in terms of the new analytic systems that we all use."
#illini Brad Underwood said Illinois is still looking for more high level non-conference games for this year
— Carson Gourdie (@GourdieReport) July 13, 2026
UNC, Duke, Texas Tech, Missouri and UConn already slated.
"We want to play high-level games. There's nobody a bigger advocate of great competition, high-level games.… pic.twitter.com/pNzCCibtp6
Brad Underwood's approach to Illinois' non-conference schedule is slowly becoming the norm
Every year, there are always a handful of teams that get left out of the NCAA Tournament that many people feel deserved to be there. They might have had an okay conference record, but they use the excuse that their conference was the 'toughest' in college basketball. However, the selection committee isn't only looking at conference play, but the non-conference side as well.
Underwood believes that the non-conference schedule Illinois played last season, which featured No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 11 Alabama, No. 5 UConn, No. 13 Tennessee and Missouri, helped the Illini in their road to the Final Four. Having the experience of playing against those high-level teams early really helped that team grow.
"I do think that there was tremendous value in [the non-conference slate] last year's run," Underwood said.
Underwood is picking up right where he left off last season, already scheduling matchups against UConn, Duke, Texas Tech, Missouri and UNC. Illinois won't shy away from the high-level matchups but will embrace them, something that is now trending in college basketball.
Suddenly, a lot more teams are realizing what these high-level non-conference games can do for their resume. If a team has a rough stretch in conference play, the committee could give them an edge if they had a tougher non-conference schedule. It isn't a foolproof plan, but unless you lose every single one of those games, it can't hurt a team, especially one like Illinois.
Underwood isn't the first coach to schedule high-level non-conference games, but others are starting to follow suit, like Florida's Todd Golden and UConn's Dan Hurley. These high-level games could be exactly what Illinois needs to help build the championship run Underwood is gunning for this season.
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