Arkansas vs Illinois: 2024-25 College basketball game preview, TV schedule

Arkansas and Illinois meet in a Thanksgiving Showcase in Kansas City. Can the Fighting Illini get an early marquee win or do the Razorbacks get the job done again?

TV schedule: Thursday, November 28, 4:00 pm ET. CBS

Arena: T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri

Though they’re just six games into a new era, Arkansas (5-1) has looked solid in the early weeks under John Calipari. They played tough before falling against Baylor a few weeks ago but have won all of their other games. Stockpiling home wins over mid-majors is great for building confidence, especially after Monday’s 74-point victory, but this is just the second real test for the Razorbacks.

Freshman Boogie Fland (17.2 ppg, 5.5 apg) is certainly living up to early expectations, as the 5-star guard is a major part of the puzzle for the Razorbacks. The leading scorer through six games has been Adou Thiero (18.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg), the junior guard who was among a group of players to follow Calipari from Kentucky. Arkansas is hoping for even more from Florida Atlantic transfer Johnell Davis (9.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg) in the weeks to come after a slow start.

Arkansas was at #18 in the AP Top 25 this week but are way down at 37th in KenPom. This team truly hasn’t been tested in the opening weeks of the season and played a bit closer to a few of those opponents than expected. The interior offense and defensive intensity have been the highlights early, with the 3-pointers starting to fall as well after a tough start to the season.

The overall situation is somewhat similar at Illinois (5-1), though Brad Underwood is back for his eighth season leading this program. The similarities lie in the roster, which is full of new pieces, and the fact that Illinois bungled their only real challenge, losing by 13 points to Alabama last week. Can this Thanksgiving matchup provide them a bounce back opportunity?

Much like with their opponent, Illinois has gotten great run from their star freshman, with Will Riley (17.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg) really standing out in the opening weeks of the season. Sophomore center Tomislav Ivisic (15.5 ppg, 8.7 rpg) is putting up great production while another freshman Kasparas Jakucionis (12.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 6.3 apg) is producing all over the court.

Illinois was briefly ranked last week before that loss to the Crimson Tide and are now back up to 21st in the KenPom ratings. It’s still very early into the season, but this seems to be a team that can compete at or near the top of the Big Ten. Ignoring the rough outing in Birmingham, Illinois’s defense has been pretty stellar, allowing a combined 74 points to UMES and Little Rock in their last two contests.

A second major opportunity presents itself for both of these teams. Each team has leaned on their defense against weak mid-major foes while new-look lineups have slowly pieced things together on offense. Interestingly enough, both of these teams are leaning heavily on underclassmen, with more high-profile transfers on both sides still figuring things out in the opening month of the season.

This matchup could easily go either way, though we’re leaning towards the Fighting Illini. While they’re playing and leaning on a young core, they have slightly more depth than the Razorbacks. It’ll be interesting to see which freshman stands out in this game, matching Illinois’ young size against Arkansas’s inner strength. A close matchup ends tightly, as we figure the Illini hit just a few more shots down the stretch; though this could certainly end differently.

Prediction: Illinois 72, Arkansas 70