The Illinois basketball season is upon us, and with that comes the national rankings.
A season removed from winning 24 games, the Big Ten Tournament, and clinching a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, the Illini are looking to make another run at a national title.
Illinois had the national attention squarely on them last season, and it looks like that won’t change to start the 2021-22 campaign. In the first AP Top 25 poll of the season, the Illini check-in as the No. 11 team in the country. While Illinois is in the top 11, they are also the third-highest ranked Big Ten program, right behind Michigan (No. 6) and Purdue (No. 7).
Being ranked is something Illinois basketball fans are getting used to.
I don’t think anyone is shocked that Illinois is starting the season inside the top 25. I would argue that if people are surprised by anything, it is that the Illini aren’t inside the top 10. But these are just the rankings to start the season, so winning will solve everything.
Being ranked is nothing new to the Illini, though. While the No. 11 ranking is exciting, it is actually the lowest the Orange and Blue have been ranked since February 7 of 2021. That Monday, February 8, Illinois entered the top 10 and never looked back.
In addition to Illinois being ranked to start this season, they were actually ranked every week in during the 2020-21 campaign. The lowest they would drop would be to No. 22 on January 18, and the highest the Illini would climb would be to No. 2 in the final AP Top 25 poll of the season.
Even just two seasons ago, the Illini finished the year strong. They were ranked in the top 25 eight out of the final 10 weeks of the 2019-20 campaign. Illinois entering the current season ranked in the top 25 will give the program 21 straight weeks of being ranked inside the top 25 when they tip-off against Jackson State on November 9.
Do you remember where this Illinois basketball program was just a few years ago? It is amazing what one coaching staff can do to turn around a team. Brad Underwood has the Illini nationally relevant once again.