Aug. 15—Illinois officially announced its Feb. 22 showdown with Duke at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. It will be the 29th game at some version of MSG in program history — postseason games included — and third in three seasons. Illinois played 14 games in the third iteration of MSG (1928-68) and 14 in the most recent version that opened in 1968 and is considered the “Mecca of Basketball.”
The Illini are 3-1 in the Brad Underwood era in one of the most iconic arenas in the sport, which includes a three-game winning streak. Here’s a look at how the first 28 games at a pair of MSGs played out:
Dec. 18, 1937 — Illinois 60, St. John’s 45
Dec. 27, 1938 — Illinois 60, Manhattan 41
Dec. 26, 1940 — Illinois 56, Manhattan 40
March 21, 1949 — Illinois 71, Yale 67*
March 22, 1949 — Kentucky 76, Illinois 47*
March 20, 1951 — Illinois 79, Columbia 71*
March 22, 1951 — Illinois 84, North Carolina State 70*
March 24, 1951 — Kentucky 76, Illinois 74*
Dec. 26, 1962 — Illinois 98, Pennsylvania 66
Dec. 28, 1962 — Illinois 91, NYU 84
Dec. 29, 1962 — Illinois 92, West Virginia 74
Dec. 27, 1965 — Illinois 96, Georgetown 94
Dec. 28, 1965 — Providence 81, Illinois 79
Dec. 30, 1965 — Army 78, Illinois 69
Dec. 27, 1973 — St. John’s 76, Illinois 60
Dec. 29, 1973 — Duquesne 85, Illinois 83
March 17, 1980 — Minnesota 65, Illinois 63#
March 19, 1980 — Illinois 84, UNLV 64
Nov. 10, 1998 — Wake Forest 75, Illinois 73
Nov. 11, 1998 — Illinois 65, Georgetown 50
Dec. 9, 2003 — Providence 70, Illinois 51
Nov. 18, 2010 — Texas 90, Illinois 84 (OT)
Nov. 19, 2010 — Illinois 80, Maryland 76
Dec. 9, 2014 — Villanova 73, Illinois 59
Feb. 28, 2018 — Iowa 96, Illinois 87^
Jan. 26, 2019 — Illinois 78, Maryland 67
Dec. 6, 2022 — Illinois 85, Texas 78 (OT)
Dec. 5, 2023 — Illinois 98, Florida Atlantic 89
