We are now less than one week away from Illinois tipping off their 2025-26 campaign at the State Farm Center against Jackson State. Injuries have been an issue for the Illini throughout the offseason,
and it remains unclear who will be fully healthy to start the year.
Nonetheless, I’ve shared my official game-by-game predictions for Illinois this season, including my NCAA Tournament seed projection.
Illinois will play 31 regular-season games this year, including 20 conference matchups within the Big Ten. The Big Ten slate features home-and-away series against Nebraska, Maryland, and Northwestern. The rest of the league will face Illinois once, either at home or on the road.
My official prediction for the regular season is for Illinois to finish with an overall record of 21-10 and 13-7 in Big Ten play.
KenPom projects the Illini to finish 23-8 overall and 14-6 in conference play, while Bart Torvik has them at 22-9 and 13-7.
Below is how I predict each regular-season game will go:
Vs Jackson State – Win
Vs Florida Gulf Coast – Win
Vs Texas Tech – Loss
Vs Colgate – Win
Vs Alabama (Chicago) – Win
Vs Long Island – Win
Vs UT Rio Grande – Win
Vs UConn (New York City) – Loss
Vs Tennessee (Nashville) – Loss
@ Ohio State – Loss
Vs Nebraska – Win
Vs Missouri (St. Louis) – Win
Vs Southern – Win
@ Penn State – Win
Vs Rutgers – Win
@ Iowa – Loss
@ Northwestern – Win
Vs Minnesota – Win
Vs Maryland – Win
@ Purdue – Loss
Vs Washington – Win
@ Nebraska – Win
Vs Northwestern – Win
@ Michigan State – Loss
Vs Wisconsin – Win
Vs Indiana – Win
@ USC – Win
@ UCLA – Loss
Vs Michigan – Loss
Vs Oregon – Win
@ Maryland – Loss
The results won’t go exactly as projected, but 21-10 feels like a realistic expectation for this year’s Illinois team. A 21-10 overall record and 13-7 mark in Big Ten play should be enough for a top four finish in the conference (earning a double bye) and a top four seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Earning a top four seed in the NCAA Tournament would give Illinois an excellent opportunity to win at least two games in the Big Dance and return to the second weekend of the tournament for the second time in three years.
