Illini release men’s basketball schedule
The 2011-12 nonconference schedule for the Illinois men’s basketball team was released Monday, and the slate features 10 home games, four matchups with squads that participated in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, and trips to Cancun, Maryland, Chicago and St. Louis.
Illinois tips off the regular season with three consecutive home games. The Illini face the Loyola Ramblers in the opener on Nov. 11, and then host SIU Edwardsville (Nov. 14) and Lipscomb (Nov. 17) at the Assembly Hall as part of the Cancun Challenge.
Illinois next travels to Mexico for the finaltwo rounds of the Cancun Challenge. The Fighting Illini will face Richmond in a semifinal on Nov. 22, while the other semifinal features Illinois State versus Rutgers. The championship and consolation games are slated for the following day, Nov. 23.
The Illini then return to Champaign to take on Chicago State on Nov. 27.
Up next is a pair of marquee matchups. Illinois travels to Maryland on Nov. 29 in the 13th annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge. This marks the fourth time the Illini have drawn Maryland in the Challenge, tied with North Carolina as its most frequent ACC opponent in the yearly event.
Following the showdown with the Terrapins, Illinois welcomes Gonzaga to the Assembly Hall on Dec. 3. It is the third game of a four-year series with Gonzaga. Last season, the Illini defeated the Bulldogs in Seattle, 73-61.
The Gonzaga game is the first of a three-gamehomestand for the Illini, followed by St. Bonaventure on Dec. 7 and Coppin State on Dec. 11.
Illinois makes its annual appearance in Chicago on Dec. 17, facing UNLV at the United Center. It will be a rematch of last year’s NCAA Tournament second-round game that saw the Illini defeat the Rebels, 73-62.
The Orange and Blue face Cornell on Dec. 19 in its last game at the Assembly Hall before Big Ten play.
The Illini wrap up nonconference play in St. Louis, taking on Missouri on Dec. 22 in the 31st edition of the Busch Braggin’ Rights at Scottrade Center.
Illinois will play two exhibition games before the regular season, hosting Wayne State on Nov. 1 and Quincy on Nov. 7. The Orange and Blue Scrimmage, meanwhile, is scheduled for Oct. 23 at the Assembly Hall.
Times and television information, along with the Big Ten schedule, will be announced later.