Illinois and Penn will meet Thursday night with the Fighting Illini carrying a 1-0 record into the matchup and Penn set to open its season. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and the game will air on FS1 with streaming available on FoxONE. Odds were listed as N/A.
Illinois enters under head coach Brad Underwood, now in his 10th season, after rolling past FDU 120-75 in its last game. Penn is led by head coach Fran McCaffery, who is in his second season.
The all-time series has gone Illinois’ way every time so far, with the Illini holding a 7-0 edge.
The last time these teams met, Illinois made a loud statement in the NCAA Tournament. On March 19, 2026, David Mirkovic powered No.
3 Illinois to a 105-70 win over No. 14 Penn in Greenville, South Carolina.
Mirkovic finished with 29 points and 17 rebounds as the Illini won a NCAA Tournament game for the third straight season and advanced to face No. 11 VCU, which had rallied from 19 down to beat No.
6 UNC.
Penn opened that game with a quick 4-0 lead, but Illinois took control soon after and never gave it back. The Illini became the first team in program history to score more than 100 points in a NCAA Tournament game.
Mirkovic was a force from the start in his tournament debut, collecting his eighth double-double of the season before halftime with 17 points and 10 redounds. He was especially tough on the offensive glass, and Penn never found an answer for him even as Illinois struggled to connect from deep.
Another freshman, Big Ten Freshman of the Year Keaton Wagler, also delivered when the moment got bigger. He scored 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
Penn got a late first-half three from TJ Power at the buzzer to trim the margin to 10, but he couldn’t match the explosion he had in the Ivy League title game against Yale, when he scored 44. He finished with six points, all in the first half, while Kylan Boswell made things difficult for him on the other end.
The Quakers were without leading scorer Ethan Roberts because of a concussion, but Michael Zanoni stepped up with 20 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Even so, it wasn’t enough to keep McCaffery’s team in range against a group that looked every bit like a Final Four contender.
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The analytics crowd noticed, too. EvanMiyas Bayesian Performance Rating had Coleman making the biggest jump in the country after the game, vaulting him to No. 28 nationally, and he was hardly alone in the surge. Three other Illinois freshmen also posted notable BPR gains from the same outing, giving the Illini a little more reason to believe their young core may be ahead of schedule. [Read more 🡒]
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Penn is next on the schedule, which should give Illinois another chance to show whether that opening-night performance was a one-off statement or the start of something bigger. The numbers behind the ranking suggest this group already belongs in the national-title conversation, but the real test will come as the competition sharpens and the injury situation continues to be part of the backdrop. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois Has A Chance To Keep Rolling Before A Future Twist Emerges
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There is also a larger picture taking shape beyond this weeks matchup, with Illinois and Notre Dame set to play a two-game series in 2027 and 2028. For now, though, the focus stays on Nebraska and on whether the Illini can keep building before that future wrinkle comes into view. [Read more 🡒]