Illinois Basketball Ranks No. 5 in Toughest Non-Conference Schedules

Illinois basketball is set to play one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country again this season. Brad Underwood has never shied away from challenging matchups, and he wants his team to be prepared for the grind of the Big Ten schedule.

The Field of 68 ranked Illinois’ non-conference schedule as the fifth-toughest in the nation for the upcoming season, behind UConn, Duke, Memphis, and Gonzaga. Memphis and Gonzaga play in mid-major conferences, so they must seek out challenging opponents early in the season. Meanwhile, UConn and Duke are expected to be among the top teams in the country, alongside Illinois.

The Illini will face both Duke and UConn during their non-conference slate. Illinois will take on UConn in Chicago and will be traveling to Durham for a true road game against Duke.

Let’s compare the non-conference schedules for all three programs.

Illinois

• At Texas Tech
• At Duke
• UConn (Chicago)
• Missouri (St. Louis)
• North Carolina (Nashville)
• Seven bye games

Duke

• Michigan State (Chicago)
• Illinois
• UConn (Las Vegas)
• At Florida
• Georgia (New York City)
• Texas Tech (New York City)
• Gonzaga (Detroit)
• Five bye games

UConn

• Michigan (Boston)
• Ohio State
• At Arizona
• Duke (Las Vegas)
• Illinois (Chicago)
• Kansas
• Virginia (New York City)
• Five bye games

I would agree that Duke and UConn have slightly stronger non-conference schedules than Illinois, but all three programs have elite slates. The ACC and Big East do not offer as many Quad 1 opportunities as the Big Ten, so Duke and UConn will look to challenge themselves in non-conference play before entering their respective league schedules.

All three teams should be national championship contenders, and each will test itself against elite competition early in the season. Credit goes to the coaches for scheduling these challenging matchups and giving fans some of the most exciting games the sport has to offer. The three matchups between these programs should be among the highlights of the college basketball season. These marquee games are great for the sport and give fans plenty to look forward to before conference play begins.

KenPom ranked Illinois’ schedule as the 12th-toughest in the country last season. With true road games at Duke and Texas Tech on the schedule this year, the Illini could climb even higher in those rankings.

There were reports that Illinois was looking to add one more marquee matchup for Black Friday, but the two sides were unable to finalize a deal. Even without that additional game, Illinois will still face one of the toughest schedules in the nation, including five projected Quad 1 opponents and a matchup against Western Kentucky, which is projected to win Conference USA.

Given the difficulty of its schedule, a 10-2 non-conference record would be an acceptable outcome for the Illini. Winning 10 games against this level of competition would put Illinois in a strong position heading into Big Ten play.

Alabama, Arizona, Michigan, Louisville, Kansas, North Carolina, Creighton, Michigan State, Kentucky, and Texas Tech rounded out the top 15 of The Field of 68’s toughest non-conference schedule rankings.