“Here we go.”
Illinois coach Brad Underwood took the words right out of our mouths in his final preseason press conference ahead of Monday’s tipoff to the 2024-25 NCAA basketball season. Fans, most of whom were shut out of catching even a glimpse of the new-look Illini in an exhibition loss to Ole Miss last week (even Twitter had nothing!), finally get to feast their eyes on a young but preposterously gifted squad – one that some experts believe could be Illinois’ most talented ever.
Eastern Illinois is coming off a 14-18 season (including 8-10 in Ohio Valley Conference play), and the Panthers aren’t expected to have much for their big-bro neighbors up the road a piece along I-57 (pro tip: take Route 130 instead). At any rate, it’s time to break the seal on the season and find out what’s inside.
Day and time: Monday (Nov. 4) at 7 p.m. CT
Venue: State Farm Center, Champaign, Illinois
Local: No TV
Stream: B1G+ app
Listen: WDWS-AM 1400 (Champaign)
WLS-AM 890 (Chicago)
Illini Sports Network affiliates (other local markets)
Varsity Network app
SiriusXM 138 or 195
SXM app 957
Favorite: Illinois (-25.5 points)*
Over/under: 145 points*
Illinois vs. Eastern Illinois all time: Illinois leads the series 8-0
Streak: Illinois has won eight in a row against Eastern Illinois
Last meeting: No. 25 Illinois 80, Eastern Illinois 52 (Nov. 6, 2023 at the State Farm Center)
Probable Illinois starters:
G Kasparas Jakucionis
G Kylan Boswell
G Tre White
F Ben Humrichous
C Tomislav Ivisic
(*Figures as of Sunday, Nov. 3)
Key stat: 92
Unofficially, the Illini enter the 2024-25 season as college basketball’s No. 26 team, afterIllinois was left off the AP Preseason Top 25. But the Illini received 92 points in the AP voting system – the highest figure among unranked teams.
Quick tips:
You’ve got the odds from the real sharps above, so this is strictly for fun. We imagine Underwood has already gotten some of the kinks straightened out from last week’s exhibition loss to No. 20 Ole Miss. And given that EIU is playing on Illini turf and rates as a far cry from a top-25 squad, expect the Illini to put on another high-scoring home-opening showcase against the Panthers.
Illinois 91, Panthers 66
Illinois Center Tomislav Ivisic Officially Eligible for 2024-25 Season
Five Takeaways From Illinois Basketball’s Exhibition Loss to Ole Miss
Illinois Freshman Forward Will Riley Named to Preseason Watch List
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