The Washington Huskies took care of business against their rivals in convincing fashion. Winning by a score of 72-57, it became a must-win game. The Huskies don't have much margin for error left in their schedule if they want to make the NCAA Tournament.
They really don't have any quality wins, even though the USC road win counts as a quad-1. But USC is NET 51, so it's not that impressive. They mostly have an easy schedule (by comparison to what they've been in) coming up, so the chances of quality wins are limited. If they can take down the Illini on the road, it will prove a lot of doubters wrong and boost their chances of a tournament bid.
The game against No. 9 Illinois is must-watch for Washington basketball fans, here's how to watch.
How do I watch Washington vs. Illinois?
Who: Illinois Fighting Illini
When: 6 p.m. PST on Thursday, January 29, 2026
Where: State Farm Center, Champaign, Illinois
TV: FS1
Streaming: FoxOne
Unlike the last game against Oregon, this game is far more attainable if you pay for TV. The Huskies and Ilini will tip off on FS1 or the Fox One app. It's a relatively late tip for the Illini as it will be 8 pm in Illinois at tip-off.
While the Huskies don't necessarily need to win this game, it's a long shot, and there's not a lot of hope being put on Washington, it would be nice. ESPN Analytics has the probability of Washington winning at 10.4%. Aka, it's a long shot.
However, this game alone would help their NCAA Tournament a ton, especially given a much more manageable schedule the rest of the way. With only three teams after Illinois inside the top-50 of the NET (as of this writing): Iowa (21), UCLA (42), and Wisconsin (41).