The FGCU men’s basketball team’s schedule has started to come together, and two marquee non-conference games have been announced. The Eagles will travel to play Illinois on Nov. 7 and New Mexico on Dec. 14.
The Chambers-led team will get its crack at two teams coming off of NCAA Tournament appearances last year, one of which made the Sweet 16 in 2024 against the Fighting Illini. A reloaded FGCU squad will get the chance to make a statement against multiple big brands before heading into conference play.
Illinois is coming off a season that saw them go 22-13, including a 13-4 record at home, and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth year in a row. After an impressive 86-73 win over Xavier in the first round, Illinois lost to Kentucky in the Round of 32 by nine points.
Led by coach Brad Underwood, Illinois features a reloaded roster with multiple former five-star recruits, such as guard Kylan Boswell and forward Andrej Stojakovic, to go along with veteran transfers center Zvonimir Ivisic and forward Ben Humrichous.
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New Mexico is going through a significant roster turnover, on the other hand. A dozen players from last year’s roster have since transferred out of the school, including superstar point guard Donovan Dent. This was largely due to coach Richard Pitino, who’s widely regarded as one of the better coaches in college basketball, leaving to be the head coach of the Xavier Musketeers.
Before Pitino’s departure, the Lobos had made the NCAA Tournament two straight years, including a trip to the Round of 32 this past season. New Mexico established itself as a perennial contender in the Mountain West Conference, but will now have to rebuild on the fly in the first year under new head coach Eric Olen.
A quick turnaround isn’t entirely out of the question for the Lobos, as Olen has quite the pedigree as a head coach. He comes from UC San Diego, where he spent the past 12 years as a head coach and oversaw the school’s transition from Division II to Division I.
He coached the team to a 30-5 record last season and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the school’s first year of eligibility. He leaves UC San Diego as the winningest coach in school history, compiling a 240–119 overall record.
The Eagles haven’t beaten a Power 5 opponent since a 74-61 upset over USC in 2022, and haven’t beaten a ranked opponent since their shocking 72-68 upset of Florida Atlantic in 2023. However, after an investigation, FGCU’s win over Florida Atlantic was one of many wins later vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions for the men’s basketball program due to numerous violations involving 18 athletes across ten sports. Read the full story here.
Illinois and New Mexico offer FGCU an opportunity to showcase the program’s progress in its fourth year with Chambers at the helm before conference play begins and break the streak of marquee losses.