Illinois Basketball: 3 takeaways from the final 247Sports class of 2022 rankings

2. The cream is rising to the top in the Big Ten

Illinois has been at the top of the Big Ten for the past few seasons. We have been a competitive team and have won the Big Ten Tournament title and the Big Ten regular season in the last two years.

According to 247Sports, Illinois is finishing with one of the best classes in the Big Ten for 2022. Ohio State takes the cake with the No. 6 class in the nation while the Illini have the No. 7 class.

Behind the Illini is Michigan checking in at No. 8 in the nation. Indiana isn’t too far behind finishing with the No. 10 class for 2022.

You won’t find another Big Ten team for a while after the Hoosiers. The next Big Ten squad on the list would be Penn State checking in at No. 35. That is a massive gap between recruiting class rankings.

Do the recruiting rankings mean everything? No, there is way more nuance to these numbers. But don’t be shocked if Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio State are atop the Big Ten and competing for the double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament for the next few seasons.

The cream is clearly rising to the top in the Big Ten. This conference has four programs in the top 10 in national recruiting rankings for 2022. These four teams should be up there with the best of the best in the conference and in the country.