UConn and Illinois Agree To Two-Recreation Sequence

STORRS – The UConn males’s basketball staff has introduced a two-game neutral-site settlement with Illinois. The sequence will start on Nov. 28, 2025 at Madison Square Garden earlier than the return sport within the 2026-27 season on the United Center in Chicago.

The match-up with the Illini shall be a rematch of the 2024 East Regional Final in Boston – a 77-52 victory for the Huskies highlighted by an historic 30-0 run. Connecticut is 3-1 all-time in opposition to Illinois, dropping the primary assembly within the 1938-39 season earlier than sweeping a home-and-home performed between 1992-1994 forward of the Elite Eight battle. The Huskies have gained their final 5 contests in opposition to groups at present within the Big 10.

Illinois has been one of many strongest packages within the Big Ten in recent times, making the final 5 NCAA Tournaments and posting 4 top-20 Kenpom finishes in that span. Returning starters Tomislav Ivisic (13.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and Kylan Boswell (12.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.4 apg) headline the Illini returners to go together with a highly-touted switch class. The Illini are a consensus top-25 staff within the ‘way-too-early’ preseason rankings.

UConn shall be making its first of two 2025 non-conference appearances at Madison Square Garden when it visits for the Black Friday showdown, additionally taking up Florida within the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 9. The World’s Most Famous Arena is essentially the most performed in venue exterior of Connecticut for the Huskies all-time. UConn is 77-62 all-time at 4 Penn Plaza and Dan Hurley is 15-8 at MSG because the Connecticut head coach.

Illinois is the sixth introduced non-conference opponent on UConn’s 2025-26 slate. The Huskies will problem themselves as a lot as any program nationally with video games in opposition to; BYU (Nov. 15 in Boston), Arizona (Nov. 19), Illinois (Nov. 28 at MSG), at Kansas (Dec. 2), Florida (Dec. 9 at MSG) and Texas (Dec. 12). CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein just lately known as the UConn gauntlet ‘the hardest non-conference schedule in UConn historical past.’