How to Watch Illinois Basketball vs. Jackson State (Game 1)

Illinois basketball fans who have had Monday's date circled on the calendar and have been waiting all offseason to see the curtain drawn on their ballyhooed 2025-26 Illini will ... have to wait a bit longer. Illinois will, in fact, open its season Monday at Champaign's State Farm Center (7:30 p.m. CT, BTN), but the big reveal of a roster that figures to be one of the most unique and skills-laden groups in college basketball won't happen against Jackson State.

The injuries of point guard Mihailo Petrovic (hamstring) and Ty Rodgers (knee) will hold them out Monday – and perhaps longer – while wing Andre Stojakovic (knee) has been labeled a game-time decision. (For more details on the Illini injury and availability situation, check here.)

But the band plays on, and the music should have an altogether different sound in Champaign this season. With more experience, more size and more shooting, and in what figures to be a more free-flowing brand of basketball, the 2025-26 Illini should be great fun to watch – and possibly a grim matchup for any opponent come March. The first step starts against the Tigers.

Here's more information on Monday's 2025-26 Illini season opener:

This one goes in the column.

🆚 Jackson State
⏰ 7:30pm CT
📍State Farm Center
📺 Big Ten Network
🎟️ https://t.co/cwaTDxJIxR pic.twitter.com/N4ehNmmlG1
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) November 2, 2025

How to watch Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Jackson State Tigers

Who: Illinois Fighting Illini (0-0) vs. Jackson State Tigers (0-1)
What: Illinois regular-season opener and non-conference matchup
When: Monday, Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois
TV/streaming: Big Ten Network
Radio/audio: Busey Bank Illini Sports Network (Champaign: WDWS 93.9 FM or 1400 AM; Chicago: WLS 890 AM); Fighting Illini Productions; Varsity Network App
Last season: Illinois went 22-13 (12-8 Big Ten) in 2024-25, earning a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament and winning a first-round game against Xavier. Jackson State went 16-18 (14-4 SWAC) last season, and opened this season with an 81-71 loss at Mississippi State last Monday.
Series history: Illinois has won all five games in its all-time series against Jackson State, most recently winning 71-47 on Nov. 9, 2021 at State Farm Center in Champaign behind Jacob Grandison's 20 points.

What to know about Jackson State

Mo Williams, in his fourth season in Jackson, Mississippi, has made incremental improvements to a Tigers program that likely hoped his NBA pedigree would help attract more talent and translate to the floor. The big breakthrough hasn't happened yet, and realistically, Williams and Jackson State are probably going to get more out of measuring themselves against their SWAC foes and trying to compete on a national level when they happen to catch lightning in a bottle.

The Tigers have solid guard talent, led by senior Daeshun Ruffin, but their frontcourt lacks experience and simply doesn't measure up – literally or figuratively – to that of the Illini. For more, details on the matchup, check out our Illinois on SI First Look at Jackson State.

It’s a privilege to be a part of the Illinois Identity. pic.twitter.com/jCnl2QzJoj
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) November 3, 2025