The Illini basketball schedule is fully released, and Brad Underwood was not shy about scheduling some of the hardest opponents in the country. Illinois will face some of the best teams in the nation, traveling to Texas Tech and Duke while also playing other top teams like Michigan State and UConn.
Illinois should once again have one of the toughest schedules in the country, as it has in recent years. According to KenPom, the Illini ranked No. 12 in strength of schedule last season, No. 4 in 2025 and No. 17 in 2024.
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Bart Torvik currently ranks Illinois’ 2026-27 schedule No. 6 nationally in expected strength of schedule.
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The Illini are expected to be a top-five team in the country this season, so there is no reason why they should not challenge themselves in the non-conference schedule to prepare for Big Ten play and the NCAA Tournament.
Despite the difficult schedule, the Illini are projected to be underdogs in just four games throughout the entire season by Bart Torvik. The analytical site BartTorvik.com has the full schedule laid out and projects a line for every game. The site currently projects Illinois to finish 24-8, with the Illini favored in 28 of their 32 games.
The lines will change throughout the season based on results, but the four games Illinois are currently projected to be underdogs in are Texas Tech, Duke, Michigan and Purdue. The current projected lines are +1.8 at Texas Tech, +6.6 at Duke, +1.9 at Michigan and +0.3 at Purdue. All four games are on the road and will be challenging for the Illini to win.
Illinois is favored in every home and neutral-site game, including the marquee matchup at home against Michigan State. The Illini are currently projected to be 4.8-point favorites against the Spartans and could be on their way to a regular-season Big Ten title with a win in that game.
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The closest projected lines on Illinois’ schedule are -1.8 vs. UConn in Chicago, -3.1 at Wisconsin, -1.9 at Maryland, -1.1 at Indiana and -1.7 at Oregon. No road game in the Big Ten is easy, and those are the games Illinois will need to win if it wants to hang another banner inside State Farm Center.
Bart Torvik currently projects Illinois to be the No. 6 team in the country and win the Big Ten with a 14-6 conference record. That ranking includes a No. 1 overall offensive ranking for Tyler Underwood’s offense.
The season will begin on November 2, but the schedule will heat up when Illinois heads to Lubbock for its first major test against Texas Tech on November 10. The Illini are currently projected to be slight underdogs in that matchup.
