Northwestern’s first public basketball test of the new season will come against an Illinois opponent with a substantially different recent trajectory. The Wildcats visit Illinois State on October 18 for a 4 p.m. exhibition at CEFCU Arena in Normal. The result will not count toward the regular-season record, but the matchup offers an early look at how Chris Collins’ rebuilt team functions against an experienced opponent.
Illinois State finished last season 23–13 and advanced to the National Invitation Tournament semifinals. Northwestern finished 15–19, including a 5–15 record in the Big Ten. Neither record belongs to the season about to begin. Both explain why this exhibition is more informative than an anonymous preseason date.
The Redbirds return leading scorers Chase Walker and Johnny Kinziger. Northwestern, by contrast, returns only three players who appeared last season and has added an eight-player transfer group. The meeting pairs established production with a roster that must turn unfamiliar combinations into a workable rotation.
What Northwestern needs to learn
Exhibitions are most useful when they answer specific basketball questions. Northwestern needs to see how its new players share possession, organize defensive responsibilities and respond when the opponent can run familiar actions through returning leaders. The final score can offer a signal without answering every one of those questions.
A new lineup may produce a strong stretch because its shooting is unusually accurate. Another lineup may struggle to score while still creating good opportunities and communicating well defensively. Coaches have to separate those outcomes from the underlying execution. For readers watching the Wildcats’ first appearance, the same distinction will make the game easier to evaluate.
Angelo Ciaravino is among Northwestern’s returning players. He started 18 games last season and averaged 6.3 points. His experience gives the new roster at least one established reference point, but Northwestern’s volume of additions means the team cannot simply reproduce last season’s roles and expect the same personnel to fill them.
A new backcourt and frontcourt balance
Illinois State’s announcement highlighted guard LA Pratt and center Luke McEldon among Northwestern’s transfers. Pratt averaged 17 points per game at Northeastern last season. McEldon averaged 11.7 points and 6.2 rebounds at Mount St. Mary’s.
Those numbers establish what the players previously produced. They do not guarantee identical output in the Big Ten or describe how Collins will distribute minutes. Different teammates, offensive responsibilities and defensive opponents can change what a player is asked to do. The exhibition is an opportunity to begin observing that adjustment without treating one afternoon as a full-season verdict.
The balance between perimeter creation and interior play will be especially interesting against Illinois State’s returnees. Walker averaged 13.7 points and 5.5 rebounds while earning first-team All-MVC recognition. Kinziger averaged 11.5 points and led the Redbirds with 119 assists. They give the home team recognizable offensive contributors in more than one area of the floor.
A local matchup with a personal connection
The game is the return leg of the exhibition arrangement the schools announced in June 2025. Northwestern hosted Illinois State at Welsh-Ryan Arena last October; the series now moves to Normal. The arrangement gives both programs a nearby Division I opponent before regular-season play begins.
There is also a direct connection between Collins’ family and Illinois State. His father, Doug Collins, is the Redbirds’ all-time leading scorer, and the playing surface at CEFCU Arena bears Doug Collins’ name. That history adds a personal dimension to the visit without changing its competitive purpose.
For Illinois basketball readers, the matchup is a practical reason to pay attention to both programs. Northwestern’s Big Ten membership does not make its roster questions less significant, and Illinois State’s Missouri Valley membership does not make its returning production less useful as a test. The teams enter with different league schedules, but they share an immediate need to prepare their rotations for November.
Keep the exhibition in its proper frame
There are clear limits to what can be learned before the regular season. Coaches may experiment with combinations they would not use for the same length of time in a conference game. Players may be working through new assignments. A good afternoon will not erase Northwestern’s rebuilding demands, and a difficult one will not settle how much the group can improve.
The useful evidence will be more specific: whether the Wildcats can initiate offense without unnecessary turnovers, whether they recover defensively when the first action fails and whether their newcomers complement the returning players. Those are repeatable qualities that matter after the exhibition label disappears.
Sunday therefore offers a starting point rather than a conclusion. Northwestern gets a meaningful road environment and an opponent with established scorers. Illinois State gets another opportunity to prepare its returning core against a Big Ten roster. The game deserves coverage because it will put real basketball questions in front of two Illinois programs before either has a regular-season record to lean on.
