if our home schedule had teams like Texas Tech, Stanford, Tennessee, and maybe a Boston college vs UT Arlington and Illinois State.

Recognizable names, regardless of how good they are will always be a better fan draw than good, no name teams. The Marriott Center would be full simply because it's a known school. Most fans don't know that Illinois State is actually a pretty good team. They don't care. They would be excited to see us play Illinois though.