Nice jump of 8 spots to conclude the season.
1. Michigan
2. UCONN
3. Arizona
4. Duke
5. Illinois
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2024 was first time that they did postseason final ranking...Does anyone know how long a postseason AP poll has been a thing? I'm a little uncertain of how to contextualize this in Illini history.
This is only the third year they've done that - we finished 4th in the '01 season FWIW, which the final poll was pre-tournamentDoes anyone know how long a postseason AP poll has been a thing? I'm a little uncertain of how to contextualize this in Illini history.
They had to sneak Duke in there lol.the voters just couldn't do the obvious thing
I honestly think 5 is getting a lot of respect. Single game elimination tournament. I don't have an issue with Duke being ahead of us. They were way ahead of us going in, lost to the same UCONN team we lost to in the tourney by less. Soundly beating Houston in Houston is rightfully a big deal but I don't think that's enough to jump them. They had the better overall season, #5 is good by me. Means we were the best of the rest, just behind the Top 4 for most of the season. That tracks.The AP wouldn't even give us number 4? After beating Houston in Houston and then the team that blew out Florida to get to Indy, you would think we'd get some more respect.
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You're probably right, but F Dook lolI honestly think 5 is getting a lot of respect. Single game elimination tournament. I don't have an issue with Duke being ahead of us. They were way ahead of us going in, lost to the same UCONN team we lost to in the tourney by less. Soundly beating Houston in Houston is rightfully a big deal but I don't think that's enough to jump them. They had the better overall season, #5 is good by me. Means we were the best of the rest, just behind the Top 4 for most of the season. That tracks.
Yeah there's a lot more nuance to it then "Well the final four MUST be the four best teams." I understand people pulling for the Illini but this ranking is not at all shocking to me and also makes sense for the most part.I honestly think 5 is getting a lot of respect. Single game elimination tournament. I don't have an issue with Duke being ahead of us. They were way ahead of us going in, lost to the same UCONN team we lost to in the tourney by less. Soundly beating Houston in Houston is rightfully a big deal but I don't think that's enough to jump them. They had the better overall season, #5 is good by me. Means we were the best of the rest, just behind the Top 4 for most of the season. That tracks.
A Final Four run and a final ranking in the top 5, validating that the tournament run was not an anomaly...Meh... who cares