LUBBOCK, Texas — The Texas Tech Red Raiders unveiled their eight-game home non-conference schedule for the 2026/27 college basketball season Thursday morning.The team is fresh off an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and is coming off a third straight 20+ win season under head coach Grant McCasland. The Red Raiders are looking to extend the second-longest non-conference home winning streak through the team's first eight home games of the season.The schedule is headlined by hosting the likes of Illinois, Jackson State, and Bethune-Cookman, among others. Here is a way to early deep dive into Tech’s upcoming home non-conference opponents before tip-off at United Supermarkets Arena.Jackson StateTrey Johnson and Ashley Robinson, director of athletics, look at the audience during a press conference introducing the new Jackson State men’s basketball head coach at Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center in Jackson, Miss., on Monday, May 4, 2026. Johnson was announced as head coach on April 15 after the departure of Mo Williams. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectTexas Tech opponents up the season on Monday, November 2nd, hosting the Jackson State Tigers. The Tigers are coming off a 12-21 record with a 10-8 in the SWAC last season, which was the worst mark in former Head Coach Mo Williams' four-year tenure.The Tigers allowed the most points per game in the conference at 83.8 a night and had the second-worst point differential in the conference. In March, Williams stepped down to become an assistant at Kentucky. The program elevated longtime Associate Head Coach and the program's single-season all-time leader in scoring, Trey Williams, to Head Coach.In his four seasons as an associate head coach, Williams was pivotal in developing talent for the Tigers, with four players receiving player of the year honors across his tenure with the program. Jackson State lost guard Daeshun Ruffin, who led the team in scoring a year ago, but returned 2025 Freshman of the Year Dorian McMillian, who was third on the squad in points per game.The Red Raiders are 2-0 against Jackson State all time. The last win was a 102-52 victory in 2022 and an 84-75 victory in West Texas in 2012. This season's home opener will be the first time Tech has opened up the calendar against the Tigers.Bethune-CookmanIndiana's Lamar Wilkerson (3) drives against Bethune-Cookman's Seneca Willoughby (3) during the Indiana versus Bethune-Cookman men's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectIt’s back-to-back SWAC opponents for the Red Raiders to start the home schedule. Three days after hosting Jackson State, Tech will host the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats in Lubbock.The Wildcats secured the program's first-ever regular-season championship under longtime Head Coach Reggie Theus in 2026. Bethune-Cookman finished 17-15 overall, the third-best record under Theus, while going 14-4 in the SWAC, the best conference record ever for the Wildcats. Bethune-Cookman won five of their last seven to secure the regular-season title. However, the hot hand to end the season didn't carry over into the postseason, as the Wildcats were eliminated in the first round of the conference tournament by Prairie View A&M, 71-67. In the offseason, a sizable chunk of the Wildcats' scoring leaders either hit the portal or ran out of eligibility.Bethune-Cookman’s third-highest scorer in guard, Arterio Morris, hit the portal and landed at Tennessee State but did secure 7'0" center Melian Martinez from Louisiana Tech. Texas Tech previously opened the 2024/2025 season by hosting the Wildcats in Lubbock, winning 94-61. The Red Raiders are 2-0 all time against Bethune-Cookman.IllinoisApr 4, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini center Tomislav Ivisic (13) shoots against Connecticut Huskies center Eric Reibe (12) in the second half during a semifinal of the Final Four of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectIn what is undoubtedly the biggest game of the home non-conference schedule, the Red Raiders host the Illinois Fighting Illini for the first time in Lubbock. Head Coach Brad Underwood and his squad finished 28-9 overall while going 15-5 in the Big Ten. The Fighting Illini made their fifth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, reached the Final Four, and then lost to No. 2 UConn, 71-62. Underwood and his team enter the upcoming season with high expectations across college basketball.After losing Keaton Wagler to the NBA, the Fighting Illini secured a top-25 high school recruiting class headlined by two five-star commits in guard Quentin Coleman and forward Lucas Morillo. The Fighting Illini secured a top-25 high school recruiting class headlined by two five-star commits in guard Quentin Coleman and forward Lucas Morillo. Both were top-10 recruits at their position and top- two players from their state. In the portal, Illinois secured four-star portal prospect Stefan Vaaks from Providence.The 6'7" guard from Estonia finished as the Friars' third leading scorer with 15.8 points a night with the most minutes on the floor across the squad. Illinois also returns forward David Mirkovic, who averaged 13.3 points per game and eight rebounds; Tomislav Ivisic, who averaged 10 points a night, shooting in the high 40s from the field; along with Andrej Stojakovic, who tested the waters of the 2026 NBA Draft before returning to Champaign fresh off averaging 13.5 points a night while on the floor, shooting 50% from the field.Illinois comes to Lubbock as part of a home-and-home series that began in Champaign last November, where Illinois handed the Red Raiders an 81-77 loss in the team's first ever meeting, with senior forward JT Toppin finishing with 35 points and 11 rebounds on the night.Stonehill CollegeProvidence College men s basketball team s 100-76 victory over Stonehill Tuesday night. The game wasn t 40 minutes of Friars greatness, and while there were some de