I remember the days when the Illinois basketball team would lose a starter, and we would wonder how he was going to be replaced.
The hope would be that the Illini land a talented freshman or someone from the bench would take a step up and help the squad. We live in a different world now. The reset button is essentially hit every offseason, and a new team pops out and competes.
Illinois didn’t just lose a star player from the Elite 8 squad back in March. We lost all but two players, and one of the two players eventually took a redshirt this season.
That is a tough ask to replace that much talent. A first round NBA Draft pick, a couple of other players who are dabbling in the G-League, and some key role players. All of them were gone in the blink of an eye.
Brad Underwood did a great job filling out the roster, though. He recruited both high school athletes and transfer portal players, and just like that, the Illini had a team, on paper, that could compete in the Big Ten.
Paper is just that, paper. With so much new talent, who knows what this team would look like, especially in the first couple of months? I mean, think about it for a second. In October, our five starters, all of which played over 20 minutes against Missouri, hadn’t played a regular season game together. The same goes for four out of the five players who received minutes off the bench in the Braggin’ Rights game as well.
If Illinois started the season extremely slowly, I would have completely understood. It is tough to just roll the ball out and say go beat a decent team, let alone some of the top teams in the nation.
Well, the Illini are now 11 games into the 2024-25 season, and I believe they aren’t just hitting the marks, but we are exceeding expectations. Going 8-3 in these 11 games is a solid achievement, and none of the losses are bad either.
NET Rankings bear out that the Illinois basketball team is doing what it needs to do to remain solidly in the NCAA tournament
With everything being about numbers today, the NCAA NET Rankings have become an important marker on where teams stand for the NCAA tournament. It also eases the minds of fans who may think Illinois hasn’t started the way they had wanted them to start.
Was I massively disappointed in the losses to Northwestern and Tennessee? Of course, I hate losing. If we win those two games in which we lost by a combined six points, one of which was in overtime, then Illinois is in the top 10 and maybe even the top five nationally.
Even with those losses, Illinois still sits at No. 14 in the NET Rankings. You are looking at a No. 3 or No. 4 seed if that stays the same come tournament time. But what do our losses look like?
Well, the losses aren't bad, on paper. Illinois has three losses this season, and all of the defeats are to Quad 1 teams. We fell to Alabama (#10) on a neutral court, Tennessee (#2) at home, and Northwestern (#54) on the road. For the season, Illinois is 2-3 in Quad 1 games, which puts us right up there with the vast majority of the top teams in the nation.
Not only have the Illini done a good job in Quad 1 games, but we are taking care of business against non-Quad 1 teams. Illinois took down Wisconsin, which was a Quad 2 contest. We are also 5-0 against Quad 4 teams. A loss in Quad 4 would hurt the NCAA tournament resume.
Illinois has an upcoming slate that features some opportunities to snag quality wins. No, I am not talking about Chicago State, which is a Quad 4 game, as they rank No. 356 in the NET Rankings. But, after that contest, things get hot and heavy in the Big Ten.
The Illini travel to Oregon. The Ducks are the No. 15 team in NET Rankings, so this is a high-level Quad 1 game. After that, Illinois then goes to Washington for a Quad 2 game, and then back home against Penn State, which is another Quad 2 game.
The contest against the Nittany Lions is an interesting one, though. Penn State is No. 32 in the NET Rankings, which means they are only two spots away from this being a Quad 1 matchup in Champaign. I would keep an eye on the next week or so to see what the Nittany Lions do. It is a big game regardless, but it could be even bigger if it is a Quad 1 game.
So, Illinois fans, just sit back and relax. A new group managed to come together and start a season 8-3 with wins over two top-20 programs. We also rank inside the top 15 in NET Rankings.
That is quite the achievement for Brad Underwood and the Illini coaching staff. The thing with this team is that they are only going to continue to gel and improve as a team. That should scare a lot of teams on our schedule. Illinois is a sleeping giant right now.