Illinois #20 in 12/4 AP Poll

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#5      
Dang. So close to being in the teens, which is only important for psychological reasons.
The coaches poll seems to make more sense to me. Illinois at #18, FAU at #9 and James Madison at #24.

At this rate, JMU will be #1 in the AP poll in about a month based on their terrible upcoming schedule and beating Michigan State in game one, who is no longer even ranked. I really don't like moving a team up just because they don't lose. AP voters seem lazy.
 
#8      
We should be ranked in front of Kentucky... UNC-Wilmington had never beaten a ranked opponent on the road in program history until this past week. Kentucky is also #22 in KenPom and #45 in NET...
Yeah but it’s Kentucky so their name alone gets them a +5 ranking buff
 
#10      
Anyway, about where I thought we would land! Kind of wish FAU had remained in the top 10 so that we could have a shot at yet another top 10 victory during the Underwood Era, but that is a very minor thing to worry about! Huge opportunities this week!

Also, for a trip down memory lane ... our games at neural sites vs. ranked opponents in the Underwood Era!

2018-19
L 84-78 vs. #3 Gonzaga (Maui)
L 77-67 vs. #19 Ohio State (Chicago, IL)

W 78-67 vs. #13 Maryland (New York, NY)

2020-21
L 82-69 vs. #2 Baylor (Indianapolis, IN)
W 82-71 vs. #5 Iowa (Indianapolis, IN - BTT Semifinal)
W 91-88 (OT) vs. #9 Ohio State (Indianapolis, IN - BTT Championship)


2021-22
L 68-53 vs. #15 Houston (Pittsburgh, PA - NCAAT Second Round)

2022-23
W 79-70 vs. #9 UCLA (Las Vegas, NV)
L 70-61 vs. #16 Virginia (Las Vegas, NV)
W 85-78 (OT) vs. #2 Texas (New York, NY)

2023-24
vs. #11 FAU (New York, NY)
 
#11      
Captain Obvious says: if the young men TCOB this week, it shall rise substantially.
Obviously a lot would depend on other results, but I would guess:

#11 if we win both
#16 if we lost to FAU but win at Tennessee
#17 if we beat FAU and lose at Tennessee
#23 if we lose both but look okay doing it
RV if we lose both in blowout fashion

Not saying any of that makes sense, but that is how the polls seem to work, lol.
 
#13      
You do have a point there.
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#14      
Someone’s gonna have to explain to me how 6-2 Wisconsin gets in the T25 for beating Marquette but not 6-1 Northwestern that took out #1 Purdue

pollsters likely werent paying attention much to either team then looked recently

Wisky is 15 on kenpom, has also beat a ranked at the time team by 24 (virginia #23) on a neutral court and now a double digit win on marquette. Thier SOS (kenpom) is way higher better than NW too at 39 for wisky and 156 for NW.

They both lost to top 50 teams for one of hte losses (providence for Wisconsin at 44 and miss st at 38 for northwestern.) It probably hurts NW a bit that miss st went on to lose to a cupcake at home in Southern (ken pom 274)

Wisconsins other loss is Tennessee, and no ones really gonna penalize them for that too much

After looking into it i actually agree with wisky over NW at this point. But not by too much
 
#16      
For me, I don’t care what any journalist or coach (except for ONE of them) thinks about the Illini right now. What matters to me is that ALL of them know who the Illini are in April and May. And most of America as well.

It would be just fine for the Illini to hide in the weeds of the Poll Teens until Dance Season... and then fully hit the gas pedal.

Just play good solid ball all season... recover quickly from the occasional stumble, and then leave Illini Nation with wide giddy smiles from Galena to Metropolis and Cairo to Zion. And memories that we have been waiting for... for a long, long time.
 
#17      
pollsters likely werent paying attention much to either team then looked recently

Wisky is 15 on kenpom, has also beat a ranked at the time team by 24 (virginia #23) on a neutral court and now a double digit win on marquette. Thier SOS (kenpom) is way higher better than NW too at 39 for wisky and 156 for NW.

They both lost to top 50 teams for one of hte losses (providence for Wisconsin at 44 and miss st at 38 for northwestern.) It probably hurts NW a bit that miss st went on to lose to a cupcake at home in Southern (ken pom 274)

Wisconsins other loss is Tennessee, and no ones really gonna penalize them for that too much

After looking into it i actually agree with wisky over NW at this point. But not by too much
This, plus the top 25 is not really a ranking of the best 25 teams. It's just simply not. For better or for worse, my entire life as a fan it has functioned as a sort of points system/ladder. Win a game you should win? Move up a spot ... unless a team behind you won a game they shouldn't win and they move up two spots, so you stay put. Lose a game by 20+ points while you are ranked #10 and the other team is #25? You drop to #18, and the other team goes up to #20, lol. It's completely illogical overall, but I must admit there is a certain quirky nostalgia to it.
 
#22      
pollsters likely werent paying attention much to either team then looked recently

Wisky is 15 on kenpom, has also beat a ranked at the time team by 24 (virginia #23) on a neutral court and now a double digit win on marquette. Thier SOS (kenpom) is way higher better than NW too at 39 for wisky and 156 for NW.

They both lost to top 50 teams for one of hte losses (providence for Wisconsin at 44 and miss st at 38 for northwestern.) It probably hurts NW a bit that miss st went on to lose to a cupcake at home in Southern (ken pom 274)

Wisconsins other loss is Tennessee, and no ones really gonna penalize them for that too much

After looking into it i actually agree with wisky over NW at this point. But not by too much
Yeah. Northwestern basically played a perfect game against Purdue and it still went to overtime. They took care of the ball, turned Purdue over a lot, and made 10 3's (50%)
Wisconsin is a veteran group that has played a lot of basketball together. They won on the glass and at the free-throw line. In a game they won by 11, they made 13 more free throws than Marquette. (28 total free throws!) They know who they are and they do what they do.

I'd rather play Northwestern on a neutral court than Wisconsin. (but I think we beat them both)
 
#23      
In the ratings make little to no sense sometimes department.

JMU ranked solely on the MSU victory. That win is fairly lusterless at this point. JMU stays ahead of UI and moves up to 18 based on absolutely nothing tangible.
 
#24      
In the ratings make little to no sense sometimes department.

JMU ranked solely on the MSU victory. That win is fairly lusterless at this point. JMU stays ahead of UI and moves up to 18 based on absolutely nothing tangible.
To add to that, they're 73 in KenPom. 4-4 Maryland is 70.
 
#25      
I know that ratings make little sense at this point.

But I don't care.

Because the higher the number, the more people talk about the team I care about. I like to listen to chatter about the teams I follow.

Therefore, I like when the Illini has a higher number next to the their name. Simple as that to me.
 
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