The Illinois Fighting Illini and Houston Cougars men’s basketball teams are scheduled to meet in the 2026 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, on Thursday, March 26. 

The game is scheduled to start at 9:05 p.m. CT. 

No. 2 seed Houston enters the matchup 30-6 overall. Most recently, Houston defeated No. 10 seed Texas A&M 88-57 on Saturday in the NCAA Tournament second round. Against Texas A&M, Houston Cougars guard Emanuel Sharp led the team with 18 points and four rebounds. 

No. 3-seeded Illinois comes into the contest with a 26-8 record. On Saturday, Illinois beat No. 11 seed VCU 76-55 in the NCAA Tournament second round. Facing VCU, Illinois forward Andrej Stojakovic led the team with 21 points and four rebounds. 

Sweet 16: How to watch Illinois vs. UH Cougars basketball on TV, live stream 

Game time: 9:05 p.m. CT on Thursday, March 26

TV channel: TBS and truTV

On DirecTV, TBS is channel 247. On Dish, TBS is channel 139. 

On DirecTV, truTV is channel 246. On Dish, truTV is channel 242. 

Terrestrial radio broadcast: WDWS-AM 1400 (Champaign, Illinois); WHMS-FM 97.5 (Champaign, Illinois); KFNS-AM 590 (St. Louis); WBGZ-AM 1570 (Alton, Illinois); WBGZ-FM 94.3 (Alton, Illinois)

Brad Underwood is the Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball head coach. Kelvin Sampson is the Houston Cougars men’s basketball head coach.Â