McLean County Times

Illinois State University has released its 2025-26 men’s basketball non-conference schedule, featuring five home games, three matchups against Big Ten teams, and four neutral site contests.

The Redbirds will play two exhibition games against Big Ten opponents: at Illinois on October 19 and at Northwestern on October 29. The game at Northwestern marks the first year of a home-and-home exhibition series with the Wildcats, coached by Chris Collins, son of former Redbird Doug Collins.

Illinois State opens its regular season on November 6 at Ohio University. Last season, ISU defeated Ohio 85-75 in Normal. The Bobcats return two starters this year.

On November 9, Cornell visits Illinois State for the first time in program history as part of a home-and-home series. The Redbirds won last season’s meeting in Ithaca.

ISU travels to Los Angeles to face USC on November 14 at the Intuit Dome. This is Illinois State’s first game against a Big Ten school since the 2021-22 season.

The team then plays Long Beach State on November 16 in California. The last meeting between these programs was during the 2023-24 season when ISU won in Fort Myers, Florida.

Rockford visits Normal on November 20. Rockford has posted six consecutive winning seasons.

Coastal Carolina comes to Illinois State for their first-ever matchup on November 23. Coastal Carolina finished last season with a record of 10-22 and returns guard Rasheed Jones.

The Redbirds participate in the Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational starting November 27 against Charlotte from the American Athletic Conference. Depending on results, ISU could face Richmond or Furman next; both would be first-time meetings for Illinois State.

After Thanksgiving, ISU hosts Eastern Kentucky on December 3 and Chicago State on December 6 to close out its non-conference home schedule. Chicago State is under new head coach Landon Bussie this year.

Illinois State wraps up non-conference play at Utah State on December 13. Utah State played in the NCAA Tournament last season and leads the all-time series with ISU by one game.