Illinois Basketball: Illini see jump in AP Top 25 after Penn State win
Another week is in the books, and the Illinois basketball program is once again on the move in the latest AP Top 25 poll.
It was a weird week for the Illini, as they only played one game. Illinois emerged victorious in their Tuesday, January 19 matchup against Penn State. This was a game the Illini were expected to win, so I wasn’t expecting a move up. It looks like I was wrong, though.
In the updated AP Top 25 poll, Illinois actually moved up three spots. They were heading into the week ranked No. 22 in the nation and now move into the top 20 at No. 19. Why did they move up three spots?
Virginia Tech looked bad against Syracuse and fell to the Orange by 18 points. This sent the Hokies down four spots to No. 20 in the polls. Minnesota only played one game as well, and they dropped it to Maryland by 14 points. This loss dropped the Gophers four spots to No. 21. Those are just two of the teams that helped Illinois move up.
How does the road ahead look for the Illini?
Illinois is either going to see a big jump in the national rankings in the next four weeks or they could see themselves drop out of the national picture.
The Illini welcome in No. 7 Iowa on Friday. The following three games after that include at Indiana, home against No. 14 Wisconsin and at No. 4 Michigan. Honestly, this stretch of games will determine the path for the Orange and Blue this season.
If Illinois can come out of the next four games with a record of 3-1, that would be successful in my eyes. That means we would beat Indiana and No. 14 Wisconsin. There would be a split of No. 7 Iowa and No. 4 Michigan. That is what my hope is.
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The future is up in the air over the next two weeks. If Illinois can play A- basketball or better, then I think we could see a significant boost in the AP Top 25 poll.