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CHAMPAIGN – The season officially begins Friday when the Illini host Ottawa in an exhibition game at State Farm Center. Nothing unusual here. Illini basketball is a hot topic, and following a rough end to last season, expectations are high for the Illini.

Illinois is ranked No. 25 in the preseason Associated Press poll. With star Terrence Shannon Jr., senior forward Coleman Hawkins and three impactful transfers, the Illini have grown old in the last year of the COVID era.

Bill Self will return with Kansas for his first public appearance in Cham-bana for an exhibition on Oct. 29. The Illini face a non-conference schedule loaded with four stiff challenges, the Big Ten schedule brings those rivalries to town, and there’s a buzz, like nearly every year, about Illini hoops.

So, let’s tackle the biggest questions heading into coach Brad Underwood’s seventh season at the helm.