The 2026–27 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team will represent the University of Illinois during the 2026–27 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Illini will be led by tenth-year head coach Brad Underwood. The Illini play their home games at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois, as members of the Big Ten Conference.
| 2026–27 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Record | 0–0 (0–0 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| Associate head coach | Orlando Antigua (7th overall, 3rd season) |
| Assistant coaches |
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| Home arena | State Farm Center |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maryland | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UCLA | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| USC | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2027 Big Ten tournament winner As of April 1, 2026 Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Previous season
editThe Fighting Illini finished the 2025–26 season 28–9 and 15–5 in Big Ten play.[1] As the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they were upset in the quarterfinals by Wisconsin.[2] As an at–large bid to the NCAA tournament, they were the No. 3 seed in the West region. There, they defeated Penn[3], VCU[4], Houston[5] and rival Iowa en route to the team's sixth Final Four in program history and first since 2005.[6] However, they were defeated by UConn, denying them an appearance in the National Championship game.[7]
Offseason
editDepartures
editAll players listed as "graduated" are tentative departures unless otherwise noted.
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Lee | 1 | G | 6'4" | 195 | Freshman | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Transferred to James Madison[8] |
| Ben Humrichous | 3 | F | 6'9" | 235 | Graduate Student | Tipton, IN | Graduated |
| Kylan Boswell | 4 | G | 6'2" | 215 | Senior | Champaign, IL | Graduated |
| AJ Redd | 5 | G | 6'3" | 170 | Senior | Chicago, IL | Walk-on; Graduated |
| Toni Bilić | 9 | F | 6'8" | 210 |  Sophomore | Trogir, Croatia | Transferred |
| Ty Rodgers | 20 | G/F | 6'6" | 210 | Sophomore | Saginaw, MI | Transferred to Boise State[9] |
| Keaton Wagler | 23 | G | 6'6" | 185 | Freshman | Shawnee, KS | Declared for the 2026 NBA draft; Selected 5th overall by Los Angeles Clippers[10] |
| Mihailo Petrović | 77 | G | 6'2" | 180 | Sophomore | Prokuplje, Serbia | Transferred |
Incoming transfers
edit| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stefan Vaaks | G | 6'7" | 215 | Sophomore | Tabasalu, Estonia | Providence[11] |
Recruiting class
edit2026 recruiting class
edit| Name | Hometown | School | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quentin Coleman SG |
St. Louis, Missouri | The Principia | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Apr 3, 2026 | |
Recruit ratings: Rivals:  247Sports:  On3: ESPN: (89) | ||||||
| Lucas Morillo SF |
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | The Newman School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Oct 24, 2025 | |
| Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: On3: ESPN: (87) | ||||||
| Xavier Zens SF |
Milwaukee, WI | Wisconsin Lutheran High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Apr 17, 2026 | |
Recruit ratings: Rivals:  247Sports: On3: ESPN: (79) | ||||||
| Ethan Brown SG |
Rolla, MO | Rolla High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Jul 30, 2025 | |
| Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: On3: ESPN: (79) | ||||||
| Landon Davis PF |
Waukee, IA | Waukee Northwest High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Nov 12, 2025 | |
| Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: On3: ESPN: (79) | ||||||
| Lincoln Williams SF |
Kankakee, Illinois | Kankakee High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jun 8, 2026 | |
| Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: On3: ESPN: (81) | ||||||
| Overall recruit ranking: Rivals: 15 247Sports: 6 On3: 15 ESPN: 21 | ||||||
Sources: | ||||||
Schedule and results
edit| Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | |||||||||||
| November 2, 2026* |
Fairleigh Dickinson | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | |||||||||
| November 5, 2026* |
Penn | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | |||||||||
| November 10, 2026* |
at Texas Tech | United Supermarkets Arena Lubbock, TX | |||||||||
| November 17, 2026* |
at Duke | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC | |||||||||
| November 20, 2026* |
Eastern Illinois | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | |||||||||
| December 4, 2026* |
vs. UConn | United Center Chicago, IL | |||||||||
| December 20, 2026* |
vs. Missouri Braggin' Rights |
Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO | |||||||||
| January 30, 2027* |
vs. North Carolina Nashville Hoops Showdown |
Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN | |||||||||
| Iowa Rivalry |
State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||||||
| Nebraska | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||||||
| Michigan State | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||||||
| Northwestern Rivalry |
State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||||||
| Ohio State | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||||||
| Penn State | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||||||
| Purdue | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||||||
| UCLA | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||||||
| USC | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||||||
| Wisconsin | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||||||
| at Indiana Rivalry |
Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN | ||||||||||
| at Maryland | Xfinity Center College Park, MD | ||||||||||
| at Michigan | Crisler Center Ann Arbor, MI | ||||||||||
| at Minnesota | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN | ||||||||||
| at Northwestern Rivalry |
Welsh–Ryan Arena Evanston, IL | ||||||||||
| at Oregon | Matthew Knight Arena Eugene, OR | ||||||||||
| at Purdue | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN | ||||||||||
| at Rutgers | Jersey Mike's Arena Piscataway, NJ | ||||||||||
| at Washington | Alaskan Airlines Arena Seattle, WA | ||||||||||
| at Wisconsin | Kohl Center Madison, WI | ||||||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. | |||||||||||
References
edit- ↑ "2025–26 Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- ↑ "Wisconsin 91-88 Illinois (Mar 13, 2026) Game Recap". ESPN. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
- ↑ "Men's Basketball Falls to Illinois in NCAA First Round, 105-70". pennathletics.com. University of Pennsylvania Athletics. March 20, 2026.
- ↑ "RAMS FALL TO 13TH-RANKED ILLINOIS IN NCAA TOURNAMENT SECOND ROUND". vcuathletics.com. Virginia Commonwealth University Athletics. March 22, 2026.
- ↑ "llinois defense gets tough, ousts Houston to reach Elite Eight". espn.com. ESPN. March 27, 2026.
- ↑ "Final Four! Illinois Beats Iowa 71-59 For a Trip to Indianapolis". fightingillini.com. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Athletics. March 28, 2026.
- ↑ Marot, Michael (April 4, 2026). "UConn and Hurley muscle their way to 3rd national title game in 4 seasons, beating Illinois 71-62". apnews.com. Associated Press.
- ↑ "Dukes Ink Illinois Transfer Brandon Lee". jmusports.com. James Madison University Athletics. May 8, 2026.
- ↑ "Broncos Sign Ty Rodgers". broncosports.com. Boise State University Athletics. May 8, 2026.
- ↑ Kalbrosky, Bryan (April 12, 2026). "Keaton Wagler declares for NBA Draft: projection and analysis". USA Today. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
- ↑ "Vaaks Signs with Fighting Illini". fightingillini.com. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Athletics. May 1, 2026.