Good Morning, Illini Nation: Know the Foe — Florida Gulf Coast

To subscribe, click here Sign up for our daily basketball newsletter here Welcome to Good Morning, Illini Nation, your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey.

Hell offer up insights every morning on Brad Underwoods team and college basketball at large: The rest of Illinois' 2025-26 schedule should be published in the next two weeks.

Why it takes the Big Ten increasingly longer each offseason to get this done remains a mystery.

Until then, we'll take a look at the other teams the Illini will face this season: Florida Gulf Coast When the Eagles are on the schedule: Nov.

7, State Farm Center Last years finish: 19-15, 13-5 Atlantic-Sun (Third) Most important returning player: None of FGCUs top four scorers are back for the 2025-26 season, with Dallion Johnson and Keeshawn Kellman exhausting their eligibility, Zavian McLean turning pro and Jevin Muniz transferring to Colorado State.

That leaves redshirt senior forward Michael Duax as the top returning scorer and junior guard Rahmir Barno as the most important returning player.

Barno averaged eight points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists last season and will now be the Eagles primary point guard with Muniz playing for Ali Farokhmanesh and the Rams.

Best offseason acquisition: J.R.

Konieczny fell out of favor at Notre Dame last season.

The South Bend, Ind., native stuck with the Fighting Irish in the coaching change from Mike Brey to Micah Shrewsberry, started 19 of 32 games in Shrewsberrys first season and averaged a career high 7.7 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting a career-best 33 percent from three-point range.

Then his minutes were cut as mostly a backup last season, and he wound up with another former Penn State coach, Pat Chambers, in Fort Myers, Fla.

Projection for 2025-26: Chambers has the potential A-Sun favorites this season, although Eastern Kentucky and North Alabama project to also be in the championship mix.

How the Eagles handle losing four double-digit scorers will dictate if they actually can contend..

This article has been shared from the original article on newsgazette, here is the link to the original article.