After dropping a game to Michigan State two weekends ago, the Illinois basketball team rebounded nicely.
This loss to the Spartans dropped the Illini from No. 10 in the nation down to No. 14. It was the sixth consecutive week Illinois has either been No. 10 or No. 14 in the AP Top 25.
To make another rise in the ranking, Illinois had to start winning again. Two games were on the schedule this past week, with one being on the road against Maryland.
Illinois took care of business against Michigan this past Tuesday. The Wolverines are a train wreck of a program and were down by nearly 40 points at one time. Illinois ended up beating Michigan 97-68.
The Illini then had a game in College Park against the Terrapins. Brad Underwood had yet to win on the road against Maryland, and the program hasn’t won there since 2011. Illinois about let the game slip away, but we pulled out a huge win on the road in the Big Ten, 85-80.
With these two victories, Illinois saw a bump in the latest AP Top 25. We went from being ranked No. 14 in the country now being the No. 12 team in the nation.
#12.#Illini
— Writing Illini (@WritingIlliniFS) February 19, 2024
More potential victories await the Illinois basketball team in the coming week
Taking care of business in both of the games this past week was big for the Illini. I wasn’t sweating the Michigan game, but Maryland is always tough. Going on the road against the Terrapins isn’t easy, but we managed to come out with a win.
These two wins boosted us up in the AP Top 25 and this week, I believe we can jump even higher. The schedule is not too tough for the Illini.
On Wednesday, Illinois takes on Penn State in Happy Valley. Oddly enough, the Nittany Lions have also been a thorn in the side of the Illini. We have dropped the last three against Penn State, and they have won nine out of the past 13 matchups.
Penn State is very beatable this time around, though. They are under .500 and have dropped three games in a row. This is a Quad 2 game, so it is a big one for Illinois.
The Illini round out the week with a matchup against Iowa in Champaign. The Hawkeyes are fighting for their NCAA tournament lives, as they are 15-11 and need to have some big wins down the stretch to make the Big Dance. This is also a Quad 2 game for the Illini.
With the way top 10 teams are losing nowadays, I think Illinois could continue to climb with another good week of winning. Knock off Penn State and Iowa, and I would imagine we will see a spot in the top 10 once again.