{"id":29738,"date":"2025-07-01T11:41:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T11:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/29738\/"},"modified":"2025-07-01T11:41:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T11:41:09","slug":"good-morning-illini-nation-its-in-the-game-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/29738\/","title":{"rendered":"Good Morning, Illini Nation: It’s in the game! | Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Welcome to \u201cGood Morning, Illini Nation,\u201d your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey. He\u2019ll offer up insights every morning on Brad Underwood\u2019s team and college basketball at large:<\/p>\n

Someone at EA Sports is listening to the people. While EA Sports College Football 25 was a smash hit \u2014 it’s the best-selling sports game of all time \u2014 the developers took feedback from the gaming community and provided asked for tweaks to this year’s installment (that drops July 10).<\/p>\n

There was also a portion of that gaming community that began clamoring for a return of a college basketball game. If football was possible, why not hoops?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Those prayers have been answered.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

Bring the Madness. Let\u2019s run it back. #CBB<\/a> #ItsInTheGame<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/iBNhGxn2yj<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 EA SPORTS (@EASPORTS) June 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The way I celebrated that tweet was … not low key. I bought EA Sports CFB 25 and loved it and will, as I did more than a decade ago in the heyday of college football games, also buy this year’s version. The changes made are enough to make that a necessity.<\/p>\n

But a college basketball game for the first time in what will be nearly two decades if it releases, as rumored, in 2028? Oh man. It’s hard to describe my level of excitement. That’s the sport that I follow as intensely as any (of course).<\/p>\n

This is a serious undertaking for EA Sports. A much grander scale. While the CFB franchise has been limited to FBS programs (a number that grows by two this year with Missouri State and Delaware), there are currently 364 Division I basketball programs. Double that number \u2014 because women’s basketball teams are also apparently being included \u2014 and there’s a clear reason be why the game is still three years out from release.<\/p>\n

I’m willing to wait, and that three-year run-up gives EA time to address game functionality.<\/p>\n

Like recruiting. If I were to, say, take over Illinois in Dynasty mode, will I be able to do my best Brad Underwood impression and build a third of my roster with players from the Balkans? The number of international players in college basketball is currently exploding and absolutely dwarfs that in college football. I’d like to see that reflected in the game.<\/p>\n

Other features I’d like to see include:<\/p>\n

\u2014 All of the players, of course, which is now possible in the NIL era.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Coaches, too, which should be on the table since CFB 26 will feature 300-plus real-life coaches after that was not included in last year’s game.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Realistic scheduling with all of the most prominent multi-team events and the ability to play one-off (or multi-year series) neutral site games.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Road to Glory where I can live out any of my own college basketball dreams that I had to shelve when I realized there wasn’t much market for a 6-foot-4 center with just an OK jump shot.<\/p>\n

\u2014 The ability to change the NCAA tournament back to its ideal number of 64 teams. I assume, by the time the game comes out, it will be at least a 72-team event (if not more).<\/p>\n