1. Something I noticed about this poll is that Cecil Hurt previously had us at #11 and now has us completely unranked while Dave Preston previously had us at #16 and now has us at #10. Two very different reactions to our loss to Baylor. One of those guys clearly thought we hung tight with an elite team and deserve credit for that while the other probably thinks that our loss revealed enough weaknesses to warrant not even being ranked. I really hope Cecil Hurt is just wrong!
2. Both Jerry Carino and Ethan Joyce moved Illinois UP in the rankings this week. Carino from 6 to 5 and Joyce from 7 to 6.
3. A number of other voters kept Illinois steady in their rankings. I take this as a sign that they're looking to see how we handle @Duke and
@MIZZOU before either dropping us or cementing us in the Top 10. This week could be massive in terms of establishing ourselves in the voters eyes when it comes time to be seeded as many of these voters wont be watching every B10 game. If we take down both Duke and Mizzou this week then even if we lose some games in Conference play we should still have a good reputation for post season seeding.
4. Paul Klee previously had us at #12 and did not vote this week. Since he previously had Houston #6, if he were to have dropped Illinois to #20+ we could have slipped behind Houston in this week's Poll. Either way Houston, Creighton, Villanova and Duke are all likely to pass us if we don't take care of business @Duke tomorrow night and then again
@MIZZOU this upcoming weekend.
I predict 2 wins this week which should jump us over Kansas (even if they beat #8 Creighton on 12/8) and might be enough to push us over MSU (even if they beat #18 Virginia on 12/9) AND Iowa (even if they beat #16 UNC on 12/8 but probably not if they also beat Iowa St on 12/11). The only way we'd crack the Top 2 is if Gonzaga or Baylor took an L and I don't see Texas taking down Baylor and Gonzaga just cancelled their next 4 games. I'm curious if Gonzaga remains #1 for the next 2 polls without playing any games or if voters drop them to #2 if Baylor keeps racking up wins?