Illinois basketball 2024-25 season game-by-game prediction
- Illinois basketball vs. Missouri (Braggin’ Rights in St. Louis) (W – 76-69)
Illinois blew the doors off a bad Missouri team last season. The Tigers struggled to get to eight wins, as they lost their final 19 games of the season. Three out of the top four scorers from that team are gone, which is probably a good thing for Missouri.
The Tigers did spend some money in the offseason. They were able to land Duke big man Mark Mitchell. Iowa’s point guard, Tony Perkins, also transferred into the program. Missouri will be much improved over last season, but I think they could be overwhelmed by Illinois’ depth. I think the Illini come away with another Braggin’ Rights win.
- Illinois basketball vs. Chicago State (W – 97-55)
Chicago State doesn’t have a good program. They managed to win just 13 games last season, and one of those wins was against Northwestern, which is hilarious. Two players led this program in 2023-24, Wesley Cardet Jr. and Jahsean Corbett, but both players transferred out. I expect Chicago State to have another rough year.
- Illinois basketball at Oregon (W – 84-77)
Illinois has to go on the road for the only contest of the season against Oregon. The Ducks are coming off a 24-win campaign that saw them get to the second round of the NCAA tournament. They lost their top two scorers from that squad, but this program didn’t do much in the offseason.
Oregon was able to land three four-star transfer portal players, but none of them blew me away. They are only bringing in one freshman four-star recruit too. I think Oregon is going to take a step backward this season, but Illinois going out to the West Coast scares me. Despite the travel, I think the Illini come away with a win in game one of the road trip.
- Illinois basketball at Washington (L – 85-79)
Washington only pops up on the Illinois schedule once this season as well. The Illini stay out on the West Coast and take on the Huskies. This is a Washington team that only won 17 games last season and lost five out of their top six scorers from that program.
The Huskies did a good job reloading, though. They have a couple of nice freshmen coming in, including former Illini commit Jase Butler. I like the addition of Great Osobor from Utah State. He was one of the top transfers in the portal. If this game is in Champaign, I think Illinois will win it. But this is the second game of a two-game road trip. It wouldn’t shock me to see the Illini stumble.
- Illinois basketball vs. Penn State (L – 76-73)
Penn State usually pops up twice on the Illinois schedule, but not this season. The Illini, thankfully, only has to play the Nittany Lions once, as they are always a thorn in our side. They finished under .500 last season but still managed to beat us.
The Nittany Lions return some good talent too. Ace Baldwin Jr. returns, and he led them in points, assists, and steals last season. Nick Kern Jr. is also back, and he was fourth on the team in points and second in rebounds. Penn State is also surrounding those talented players with some nice transfer portal pieces. Illinois for some reason struggles against Penn State. We would be coming back from a long road trip and there are a couple of days to get ready for this game. I could see the Illini dropping this home contest.
- Illinois record – 12-3 (3-2 Big Ten)