Illinois Basketball: Illini getting notoriety as a Final Four contender

With the season tipping off just days from now, the Illinois basketball program is gearing up to make a run at the pinnacle of the sport.

The return of Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn is what put Illinois back in the race for what many believe will be a deep run in the NCAA tournament. Andy Katz of the NCAA.com and Big Ten Network has been a believer of the Illini for a while now and continued that sentiment on Wednesday.

Katz did a segment about Final Four contenders and posted the video on his Twitter page. He has eight teams that he believes have a shot at making the Final Four. Illinois was among the eight teams on the list. The other seven included Baylor, Gonzaga, Villanova, Iowa, Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia.

Is Andy Katz’s eight contenders for the Final Four right?

Obviously, I believe Illinois is a Final Four contender. They return two of the top 30 players in the nation and solid first-team All-Big Ten caliber talent in Ayo and Kofi. These two college basketball giants should lead the way for the Illini.

Illinois is arguably the most complete team in basketball as well. They have two superstar veterans in Ayo and Kofi. Da’Monte Williams and Trent Frazier provide great perimeter defense and are both seniors this year.

The Illini brought in two more experienced transfers in Jacob Grandison and Austin Hutcherson who will provide tremendous depth as juniors for the program. Let’s not forget about the young guns coming in. Two top 50 recruits in Adam Miller and Andre Curbelo will help the Illini tremendously.

There are a couple of teams I believe Katz left off his list that could make the Final Four.

Wisconsin is one of those teams. They are returning a lot of experience led by Brad Davison. It seems like the sharpshooting guard has been there for about seven years now. In addition to Davison, big men Nate Reuvers and Micah Potter are both back. They are seniors this year and should be able to cause chaos in the paint.

A dark horse I believe could end up making the Final Four this upcoming season is Houston. The Cougars finished last season ranked and are returning most of their talent. Five out of Houston’s top six scorers are back this year. Look for the Cougars to make some noise in college basketball this season.

I believe the college basketball landscape is going to be a little more wide open than Katz thinks. But I do agree with him, Illinois is a Final Four contender considering their goal is to win a national title.