Head coach Brad Underwood

Career balance: 252-115 (.687), 12th year

In Illinois: 143-88 (.619), 8th year

Big Ten: 80-58 (.580)

Series story

All-time record against Eastern Illinois: Illinois leads 8-0

Record in Champaign: Same

Last meeting: #25 Illinois 80, Eastern Illinois 52 (November 6, 2023 in Champaign)

Underwood vs. Eastern Illinois: 2:0

Tips for opening

• Illinois opens its 120th season of men's basketball on Monday by hosting Eastern Illinois (7 p.m. CT, B1G+).
• The Illini have compiled an all-time record of 105-14 (.882) in season openers.
• The Fighting Illini have won eight straight opening games, a streak that began on November 11, 2016 with an 81-62 victory over Southeast Missouri.
• Illinois hosted Eastern Illinois to open the season each of the last two seasons, defeated the Panthers 80-52 to open the 2023-24 season and secured an 87-57 win over EIU to open the 2022-23 season.
• The Illini are 40-2 all-time (.952) entering the season at State Farm Center.
• Illinois has won 27 straight games at State Farm Center to start the year, a streak that began on December 1, 1993 with a 99-73 win over La Salle.
• Illinois sits just outside the top 25 in the preseason AP poll and receives the most points (92) among unranked teams. Meanwhile, the Illini came in at No. 24 in the preseason coaches poll.
• Illinois has been the Big Ten's winningest team over the past five seasons, posting a record of 69-31 (.690) in league play. The Illini won the 2024 Big Ten Tournament championship as a No. 2 seed, won the 2022 regular season championship and led the conference in wins while claiming a B1G tournament crown in 2021.
• Illinois traveled to Oxford, Miss., to face No. 24 Ole Miss in a charity game on Oct. 27. The game benefited CASA of North Mississippi.
• The Illini's preseason began with a closed matchup against Butler on October 13 in Champaign.

Illinois-EIU storylines

• Although the campuses are 50 miles apart, Illinois will face Eastern Illinois on Monday night for just the third time in the last 22 years, all in the last three season openers.
• The ninth meeting of the program will take place on Monday. Illinois has won its last eight games, all in Champaign.
• Head coach heading into his first season at Illinois Brad Underwood and the Illini also played a hurricane relief game in Charleston on November 3, 2017. The sellout crowd at Lantz Arena saw the Panthers cruise to an 80-67 victory in the second half.
• Eastern Illinois athletic director Tom Michael was a four-year letterwinner for the Fighting Illini from 1991 to 1994. One of the best shooters in program history, Michael still holds Illini single-season (.493) and career (.449) 3-point percentage records. Following his playing career, Michael spent 18 years in the U of I's Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, where he rose to senior associate athletic director before taking the helm at EIU in 2014.
• Illinois assistant coach Geoff Alexander served on EIU head coach Marty Simmons' staff in Evansville for five seasons (2013-17).
• EIU assistant coach Rich McBride was a four-year letterwinner for the Illini (2004-07) and was team co-captain and co-MVP during his senior season.
• Fight against Illini F Ben Humrichous and EIU F Skeou Kalle were teammates at Evansville in 2023-24. Humrichous started all 24 games he played for the Purple Aces and averaged a team-high 14.7 points and 4.7 rebounds. Kalle appeared in 21 games off the bench and averaged 1.8 points and 1.5 rebounds in 6.6 minutes per game. .

Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)