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When it comes to Illinois basketball, AP Top 25 once again lags behind NET Rankings

We are coming down the end of the season, and Illinois basketball sits inside the top 10 in the national polls.
ByRees Woodcock|
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Feb 15, 2026; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Kylan Boswell (4) drives the ball against Indiana Hoosiers guard Conor Enright (5) during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
Feb 15, 2026; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Kylan Boswell (4) drives the ball against Indiana Hoosiers guard Conor Enright (5) during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Illinois basketball has shown a ton of grit lately after dealing with a couple of impactful injuries.

Every program has some sort of injury bug throughout a season, but the Illini have dealt with injury issues a lot. Just in the past month, Illinois had two starters drop with injuries. That would kill most programs.

Instead of folding up shop and making excuses, the Illini went to work. We beat both Purdue and Nebraska, both top-five programs at the time, on the road. The only two losses since December 14 were on the road against Michigan State and against Wisconsin. Both games were in overtime.

Illinois is finally starting to get healthy again. The result? A 20-point drubbing of Indiana in which the Hoosiers weren’t too competitive. With that being said, we still saw a drop in the latest AP Top 25.

In the newest rankings, Illinois now sits at No. 10 in the country, a two-spot drop from the No. 8 spot last week. Ahead of the Orange and Blue includes both Purdue and Nebraska, two teams we have beaten, shorthanded, in the past month.

I am not completely sure how Illinois is behind Nebraska. The Cornhuskers have dropped three out of their last five games, and the only wins were against Rutgers and Northwestern. You can say the same for the Boilermakers, too. They dropped three out of their last seven, which included losses to UCLA, Indiana, and us back on January 24.

The NET Rankings have a better national standing for the Illinois basketball program than the AP Top 25

Thankfully, the NCAA tournament seeding takes the NET Rankings into account more than the AP Top 25. The AP Top 25 is just for talking points.

The latest NET Rankings have Illinois up two spots, sitting at No. 5 in the nation. This includes a record against Quad 1 and 2 teams of 11-5 this season.

As we get closer to the NCAA tournament, keep an eye on the NET Rankings. At No. 5 in the country, that should have the Illini sitting in the No. 2 seed spot come March. Finishing the season on a high note might even get us into that coveted No. 1 seed territory. Let’s see how things play out.

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