Illinois Basketball: 3 players primed to level up in conference play

Illinois basketball is in the midst of a fight for Big Ten supremacy.

The Illini have one of the top teams in the country. In the latest AP Top 25 poll, the Orange and Blue check in as the No. 9 team in the nation.

On Friday night, Illinois starts to get into the meat of the Big Ten season. While we are 2-0 in conference play, those two wins have come against Rutgers and Northwestern. There are bigger fish to fry, as No. 1 Purdue awaits this weekend.

Illinois currently sits atop the Big Ten as we speak. With a 2-0 record, the Illini are tied with No. 21 Wisconsin who also boast a 2-0 start to conference play. The standings will change by the day, but Illinois should maintain a shot at winning the Big Ten regular season throughout the 2023-24 campaign.

It won’t be an easy trek for the Illini, though. After getting the news of a player being suspended this past week, Illinois had to find new team chemistry and cohesiveness. That didn’t take long, as we trucked both Fairleigh Dickinson and Northwestern since the suspension news broke.

Big Ten season is upon us, so Illinois needs some players to level up if we want to win the conference and get to the NCAA tournament as a top seed.

Here are three Illinois basketball players primed to level up in conference play.