Illinois basketball will begin the regular season on Monday, November 2, inside the State Farm Center. The Illini will host Fairleigh Dickinson and are expected to be heavy favorites.
The betting line has yet to be released, but KenPom currently projects Illinois to win by 34 points. FDU was one of the worst teams in college basketball last season and will likely be near the bottom of the rankings again this year. The Knights finished 11-21 last season and ranked No. 336 nationally at KenPom.
FDU will likely be outmatched on both ends of the floor Monday night, and I expect Illinois to cruise to an opening-night victory. FDU faced Iowa State on opening night last season and lost by 28 points, so a similar result could be in store this year.
The Illinois offense should be one of the best in the country, and FDU's defense could be in for a long night. This is no longer the same FDU team that upset No. 1 seed Purdue in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The Knights have yet to record a winning season since that historic run and should struggle again this year.
Brad Underwood's teams at Illinois have made a habit of taking care of business in their season openers following a scare against Nicholls State during the 2019-20 season. The Illini barely escaped with a 78-70 overtime victory before going on to have one of their best seasons in program history, only for COVID-19 to bring it to an abrupt end. Since then, Illinois has beaten its season-opening opponents by an average of 41 points.
The Illini faced a similarly ranked opponent in last year's opener when they defeated Jackson State on November 3. Illinois scored a season-high 113 points and won by 58. The Illini have a great chance to reach the 100-point mark again Monday night, which would provide a nice confidence boost for a team currently dealing with several injuries.
It remains unclear who will be available for Illinois on Monday night, as multiple players are dealing with injuries. Sophomore forward David Mirkovic was seen back in a walking boot last week, and Brad Underwood indicated that he would miss some games. Zvonimir Ivisic and Andrej Stojakovic also missed Illinois' final exhibition game against UIC on Wednesday night. Both were seen getting shots up before the game, but their availability for Monday's matchup against FDU remains uncertain.
Illinois has two games to open the season that should result in comfortable victories before its non-conference schedule really heats up with a matchup against Texas Tech on November 10.