Illinois Basketball: Illini crack the AP Top 25 for the first time in 2022

It is a new week in the college basketball world, but this time the Illinois basketball team finds themselves back in the AP Top 25.

The Illini haven’t seen a number next to their name in quite some time. You have to go back to the week of November 22 to find the last time Illinois managed to be inside the prestigious AP Top 25 poll. But, on Monday, January 10, 2022, the Illini are back.

Published at the normal 11:00 a.m. CT as usual, the Associated Press released their top 25 which features the Orange and Blue sitting at the No. 25 spot in the poll. This is, roughly, a one-spot jump from last week where Illinois was the first team on the outside.

Illinois basketball has a tough road ahead after the latest AP Top 25.

It is awesome that the Illini are back in the top 25, but there are some Big Ten teams who also don the list. Most of these teams are on Illinois’ schedule in the coming weeks.

Nebraska and Michigan are up next, and these are two very winnable games. Following that stretch, the Big Ten slate gets much tougher.

From January 11 through February 10, Illinois plays four ranked opponents in that nine-game stretch. The Illini have two games against No. 7 Purdue. No. 10 Michigan State comes to Champaign for the first of two matchups. And then on February 2, No. 13 Wisconsin comes to town.

Things are about to get much tougher for the Orange and Blue. Over the next month, we are going to see what this team is made of this season.

I put together a roadmap for Illinois to win the Big Ten a couple of weeks ago. This upcoming stretch of games is where things are the hardest. Hopefully, we can emerge with a solid record and continue being ranked.