2/15 Polls - Illinois #5 in AP Poll

1 Gonzaga
2 Baylor
3 Michigan
4 Ohio State
5 Illinois
6 Houston
7 Virginia
8 Alabama
9 Oklahoma
10 Villanova

Dan said:

1 Gonzaga
2 Baylor
3 Michigan
4 Ohio State
5 Illinois
6 Houston
7 Virginia
8 Alabama
9 Oklahoma
10 Villanova

NCAA College Basketball Rankings: AP Top 25 Basketball Poll

The official page for the AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll. Keep up to date and view the latest NCAA men's basketball ranking updates each week for the 2023-24 season.

apnews.com

Click to expand...

Sure would be fun for these 3 B1G teams to be meeting as top 5 teams! Although we need Michigan to not be because they need to lose a couple games.

See, great things happen when you almost lose to a team on a 25 game conference losing streak!

Keep on moving up the chart guys.

Higher ranking = more exposure. Nice. Lets win out and grab ourselves a #1 seed.

In Week 2, when we were last in the top 5 and about to face #2 Baylor, Big Ten teams were also occupying spots 3-5:

#3 Iowa
#4 Wisconsin
#5 Illinois

Feels good to be the only common denominator.

I can’t believe we’re here. It’s been a LONG time coming. Remember how devastated we were when Rutgers beat us in Groce’s last game? If we win that, we’re probably in the tournament that year and we’re probably not at this point today. Thank goodness Rutgers beat us that day. It was a blessing in disguise.

thedrunkreferee said:

I can’t believe we’re here. It’s been a LONG time coming. Remember how devastated we were when Rutgers beat us in Groce’s last game? If we win that, we’re probably in the tournament that year and we’re probably not at this point today. Thank goodness Rutgers beat us that day. It was a blessing in disguise.

Click to expand...

It's always impossible to root against the team you love, but when you look back with 20/20 hindsight ... these types of outcomes are interesting. I am sure many IU fans feel conflicted about this seasons if they don't see Archie as the answer, for example, though I think their delusions of grandeur are a component there, lol.

Big Ten is stacked

Not trying to divide any fans, simply amazed by this ... isn't it mind blowing that there were fans (regardless of whether their intentions were good or suspect) arguing that we shouldn't really expect more than we were getting in years like 2010 or 2014 or 2016 when some were calling for a new direction in the program?? No Illini fan should EVER forget that this should be our ceiling. Now, I am not expecting top 5 rankings each year and competing for a Big Ten Championship annually, but a good coach/recruiter can win anywhere, and it's even less difficult when you have (in order of importance, IMO)...

- Plenty of money as an athletic department ... B1G revenue sharing, BTN money, large donor base/endowment
- Great recruiting footprint ... Instate recruits among the best in the nation, St. Louis/Indianapolis/Milwaukee/etc. nearby
- Good media exposure ... BTN, regular Chicago/St. Louis coverage/exposure
- Top-notch facilities ... Recently renovated arena and players' facilities that stack up against anyone in the nation
- Great fan support ... Regularly draw 12,000+ when we're terrible and pack the house again as soon as we're good
- A winning tradition ... Top 15 all-time in damn nearly every category historically and even better before 2007-2018
- A great academic reputation without too much restriction ... World-class university but not as rigid as a Northwestern
- A great college atmosphere ... Champaign now regularly ranked as a top college town in the US and one that is dynamic and changing

I'm so proud of what we have put together in Underwood's tenure and the amazing work these guys have put in. It seems like yesterday that Iowa was running us off the court at the United Center on our own turf, and the next season that was supposed to be so much better resulting in disappointing and infuriating losses to BAD Miami (FL) and Mizzou teams in the non-conference. It's a good lesson to not give up hope too early and ALSO a great lesson to Illini fans not to sell the potential of our football program too short simply because we haven't put it together in a long time! GO ILLINI!

Fighter of the Nightman said:

isn't it mind blowing that there were fans (regardless of whether their intentions were good or suspect) arguing that we shouldn't really expect more than we were getting in years like 2010 or 2014 or 2016 when some were calling for a new direction in the program??

Click to expand...

People say very silly things when they make it their hobby to come on the internet and act as the Press Secretary for the coach of their college team. It's a strange thing.