After a tough loss on Sunday to Rutgers, the Illinois basketball team finds themselves dropping even further down in the rankings.
In the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, the Illini land at No. 18 in the nation with an overall record of 5-3. This is a slight drop from their No. 13 ranking in last week’s poll. The reason for the drop? A 1-1 record in the prior seven days.
Illinois had a really good showing against an unranked Minnesota crew last Tuesday. Their 92-65 drubbing of the Gophers at home was expected. This counts toward a win overall, but it should be chalked up as an expected win when it comes to the rankings.
The Illini loss to No. 19 Rutgers on Sunday is why the Orange and Blue dropped five spots this week. The Scarlet Knights took on a tough Illinois bunch but were just too much to handle. Rutgers is now ranked No. 11 in the nation after their win over a ranked Illini squad.
What does this mean for Illinois?
It doesn’t really mean much as of right now. We are so early in the season still and there are plenty of games coming.
The Illini are still ranked No. 18 in the nation despite being 5-3 overall. The three losses Illinois has on the record are all currently ranked inside the top 20 in Rutgers (No. 11), Missouri (No. 14) and Baylor (No. 2).
Illinois now has a six-game stretch where they don’t play a ranked opponent and half of the games are at home. I expect at least five wins out of this run, and there is no reason we can’t win them all. A solid winning streak in the next six games will get us back inside the top 15.
The season is still young, so there is no reason to worry about the Illini right now. Some adversity early on isn’t a bad thing by any means. Let’s right the ship and get on the winning track.