The Penn Quakers visit the No. 3 Illinois Fighting Illini on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, at 8:30 p.m. ET from State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois.
Illinois opened its regular season against FDU on Nov. 2. Forward David Mirkovic remains out for the Fighting Illini after an emergency appendectomy on Oct. 31.
Below are the details on how to watch.
How to Watch Penn vs. Illinois
- When: Thursday, November 5, 2026 at 8:30 p.m. ET
- Where: State Farm Center, Champaign, IL
- TV: FS1
- Stream: Watch 3 days free on FOX One
Watch the players
Penn’s leading scorer scored as many as 44 points per game last season and averaged 16.4 points and 7.6 rebounds. The 6-foot-9 forward made 43.2 percent of his 3-point attempts.
Power played at Duke and Virginia before Penn Harbor, where he started all 30 games and played 35.0 minutes a night. Illinois can use 7-footers Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic against him, and his 43.2 percent three-point shooting is a tool that can pull those bigs off the rim.
Michael Zanoni made 38.7 percent of his 3-point attempts for Penn last season and is averaging 11.8 points in 30 starts. The 6-foot-5 guard scored as many points in the game.
Penn needs another scorer next to Power, and Zanoni is a proven option on the roster. Mercer played before transferring to Penn and played 28.7 minutes last season. Illinois’ 6-foot-4 guards, Stefan Vaaks and Andrej Stojakovics, will have a crowd of catch-and-shooters, holding a 38.7 percent three-point clip against that stretch.
Illinois’ top newcomer averaged 15.8 points per game as a freshman last season at Providence and scored 25 points in 31 games. The 6-foot-7 guard also averages 3.2 assists.
Penn’s court will have to deal with his size because Vaaks is two inches taller than Zanoni. He made 35.0 percent of his 3-point attempts, played 31.4 minutes per game and scored as many as 28 points in the game. His shot rolled with Mirkovic looking out of place.
Tomislav Ivisic averaged 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds while starting 33 of 34 games for Illinois last season. The 7-foot center scored as many as 21 points in the game.
Ivisic’s outside shooting power was able to draw from the basket on defense. On offense, Ivisic made 31.3 percent of his 3-point attempts to stretch the floor as well. He played 25.4 minutes per game last season and shot 48.3 percent from the field. With the 6-foot Power Pens swimming to the perimeter, Ivisic’s first touch after touch will show whether Illinois can punish that size inside the gap.