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Illinois Basketball: NCAA NET rankings have Illini near top

By Rees Woodcock

Dec 12, 2020; Columbia, Missouri, USA; The Illinois Fighting Illini bench celebrates after an offensive foul called on Missouri Tigers guard Mark Smith (13) during the first half at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 12, 2020; Columbia, Missouri, USA; The Illinois Fighting Illini bench celebrates after an offensive foul called on Missouri Tigers guard Mark Smith (13) during the first half at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports /
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After a solid three-game winning streak, the Illinois basketball team finds themselves in good standing in the first NCAA men’s basketball NET rankings.

The ranking, which is through Sunday, January 3, is explained in greater detail on the NCAA.com website.

"The NCAA Evaluation Tool, or NET, will be the new barometer for the committee, and it will include game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin (capping at 10 points per game), and net offensive and defensive efficiency."

In the first NET rankings of the year, Illinois lands at the No. 4 spot, ahead of every other Big Ten program. The only teams ahead of the Orange and Blue include Gonzaga, Baylor and Tennessee.

You don’t have to go down too far to start finding a plethora of Big Ten foes, though. Michigan, Iowa and Wisconsin are all in the top 12 checking in at No. 6, No. 7 and No. 11, respectively.

What does this mean for Illinois basketball?

The NCAA controls the postseason in college hoops, so I assume they are going to take the NET rankings more seriously than anything else, which includes the RPI.

Illinois is 8-3 this season with their three losses coming to teams who are ranked fairly high in the NET rankings. Baylor is No. 2, Missouri is No. 10 and Rutgers is No. 17. That isn’t a bad start to the 2020-21 campaign.

I assume with an 8-3 record, the only reason we up as high as we are is the fact that those are the only three blemishes on the schedule. Illinois’ schedule has been pretty tough if you judge it by the NET rankings as well.

According to the NET rankings, eight out of the 11 games Illinois has played this season have come against teams ranked in the top 100. Six of those eight teams were in the top 50, three of those six were in the top 25 and two of those three were in the top 10.

Next. Illini report card against the Purdue Boilermakers. dark

The Illini being No. 4 in the first NET rankings of the year is a great thing for the program. It lays out where the NCAA sees the Illinois basketball program as far as national standing. As long as we keep winning, that ranking shouldn’t move much.

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