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Illinois announces when 2020-21 season will start, adds major Big 12 opponent to schedule

Ryan Williamson

By Ryan Williamson

Published:

Big Ten men’s basketball fans continue to wait for a 2020-21 conference schedule to be released.

That wait continues, but for Illinois fans, they got some more clarity of what their 2020-21 non-conference schedule will look like. The team announced a three-day, round-robin event in Champagne. But the bigger news might be another single game against a high-profile opponent.

The Illini will host Wright State, Ohio and North Carolina A&T as part of a round-robin event that has six games over three days. No fans will be allowed in State Farm Center.

Illinois will open on Nov. 25 against North Carolina A&T. On the 26th, the Illini will face Wright State and wrap up with Ohio on the 27th.

The big news, which seems to be sort of hidden in the press release sent out by the school, is the addition of a non-conference game on Dec. 2 against Baylor in the Jimmy V Classic.

This tournament is annually held at Madison Square Garden each year, but it seems to be unclear where it will be in 2020.

Based on the preseason AP poll, the Illini-Bear tilt would be a top-10 matchup. Illinois came in at No. 8 and would play No. 2 Baylor.

Prior to that game, the Illini’s biggest challenge in that three game set at State Farm Center appears to be Wright State. The Raiders won the Horizon League last year and posted a 25-7 record.

Those four games are amongst six that have come out as non-conference games for Illinois. The Illini are set to face Duke on Dec. 8 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Four days later, Illinois will head on the road again to play Missouri in the schools’ annual Braggin’ Rights game.

Ryan Williamson