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Illinois basketball 2024-25 season game-by-game prediction

In hours, the Illinois basketball team will suit up for the first game of the 2024-25 season and it should be a good one.

By Rees Woodcock

Illinois v Connecticut
Illinois v Connecticut / Maddie Meyer/GettyImages
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  • Illinois basketball vs. USC (W – 91-69)

After some much-needed rest and time home, Illinois gets back on the horse against the USC Trojans. This is the only matchup of the year between the two teams, but thankfully, it is in Champaign.

USC won 15 games last season, and you have to go down to Harrison Hornery to find the highest-scoring returning player from the 2023-24 campaign. He averaged 3.3 points per game and was 10th on the team in scoring. The Trojans essentially went out and got a new team in the transfer portal. 11 transfers are entering and two freshmen. But the transfers aren’t that impressive. I expect USC to be on the struggle bus this season.

  • Illinois basketball at #17 Indiana (L – 81-74)

Illinois takes on Indiana just once this season, and it is a quick trip over to Bloomington for the matchup. The Hoosiers were able to retain some of their top talent from their 19-win team last season. Kel’el Ware is gone, though, and he was their leading scorer and rebounder.

Indiana is a basketball school, so they dump their money into the basketball program. The Hoosiers had a good transfer portal haul, which included Illinois guard Luke Goode. They also got some nice size up front with the addition of Arizona’s Oumar Ballo. Going on the road in the Big Ten is always tough, and Indiana should be even better than last year. This might be too big of a test for the Orange and Blue.

  • Illinois basketball at Michigan State (W – 72-60)

Michigan State managed to reach 20 wins last season and went to the NCAA tournament. They did have some big offseason departures, though. Tyson Walker and Malik Hall, their top two scorers, both graduated. Hall also led the program in rebounds. AJ Hoggard, the third-leading scorer and leader in assists, departed for Vanderbilt. Those are three big losses. I think the Spartans could see some struggles in 2024-25.

  • Illinois basketball vs. Maryland (W – 77-61)

Maryland had their moments last season, like beating Illinois, but they only finished with 16 wins. Illinois only has the Terrapins in one game this season, though. Maryland does return some decent talent too. While Jahmir Young and Donta Scott are both gone, Julian Reese and his 13.7 points and 9.5 rebounds return.

The Terrapins did land one of the best recruits in the country. Five-star Derik Queen picked the Terrapins and should be a great player for them. I am not impressed with the transfer portal snags, though. Maryland is going to be frontcourt-heavy, and Illinois has the horses to run with them. I like the Illini in this game.

  • Illinois basketball vs. Northwestern (W – 88-59)

I think the Illini are in store for a Northwestern sweep in 2024-25. Illinois should be going up against a depleted Wildcats team that doesn’t return a lot of talent. They also didn’t bring in any big names. The two freshmen who are joining the team are sub-125 nationally, and the best transfer portal player is a three-star. Northwestern could see one of their worst seasons in recent memory this season.

  • Illinois record – 16-4 (7-3 Big Ten)
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