2/22 Polls - Illinois #5 in AP Poll

#51      
Rankings mean squat, they are nice, but that's about it. When I was coaching, we were ranked #1 in state several years, but never took home the title. The only ranking that matters is the one after the last game!
agree 100%. in prep basketball, back in the day ,they used to never seed - maybe they do a little bit now like they do in football, I really dont know

in only matters a little in the NCAA tourney in that you simply want your road to be as smooth as possible. If you can avoid playing a #1 seed in the first 4 rounds, maybe they have a bad night & get knocked off before you need to face them.

But the bottom line really is , to be the best , you need to beat the best. As fans we are simply wanting/expecting to get to the Elite 8 or Final 4. At that point, just about anything can happen. See 1989 and 2005. Get to the Final 4 enough times and sooner or later you should win it.
 
#52      
Right where we should be, IMO. If Michigan is as legit as everyone seems to think, then OSU shouldn't drop behind a team they have beaten on the road (i.e., the Illini) for losing a close game to them. We will have our opportunities soon enough! REALLY want to get through this week without a loss, and then the rest of the regular season really does become a no-lose situation! Two chances at AMAZING wins, and either loss would be fine and frankly expected.
 
#54      
Yep--Zaga's SOS is nothing special. Ours, on the other hand is #8 on KenPom, the next highest in KP's top 10 is OSU at SOS #12, Iowa @ #18, scUM @ 20, Gonzaga #96, Baylor #104.

Most difficult SOS in the country, in order from #1, are
Northwestern
PSU
Rutgers
Nebraska
Kentucky
Minnesota
IU
UI
Maryland
Purdue

Kentucky the only non-B1G on that list.
That is simply incredible
 
#55      
They won't punish them for COVID pauses and they shouldn't punish them for COVID pauses. This is the year of the asterisk. Rules that might have made sense in normal times do not make sense now. You cannot punish teams for not playing, even if you suspect they are taking advantage of the system by avoiding certain games.
Well said
 
#56      

iLL 89ers

Dallas,TX , Born and raised in Alton,Illinois
Illinois just needs to worry about what Illinois can take care of , rankings are nice and fun , but these young men just need to focus on who`s next on the schedule , one game at a time , their only concern moving forward at this moment is Michigan State
The team just needs to stay healthy , humble and all the honorable accolades that will come with their "fruits of effort" going through the grind....moving forward.
 
#58      

illini80

Forgottonia
That is simply incredible
Has much to do with how highly regarded the B10 was preseason and there were few non con’s to change anything so we continue to rack up quality games. I agree however, that is an amazing stat.
 
#61      
Entire B1G is within Top 20 SoS on Kenpom:

1. NU
2. PSU
3. Rut
4. Neb
6. Minn
7. IU
8. UI
9. MD
10. PU
12. OSU
14. MSU
15. Wisc
18. Iowa
20. Mich

2004 ACC had 1st thru 7th, 9th, and 12th. They only had 9 teams but that is the conference we are up against for best conference in the KenPom era.
 
#63      
At this point, can Duke win enough games to become a high quality win again? Man I hate rooting for them, but when they do win a game this year at least I get tobthink, yes, but we beat them.
 
#64      

lstewart53x3

Scottsdale, Arizona
At this point, can Duke win enough games to become a high quality win again? Man I hate rooting for them, but when they do win a game this year at least I get tobthink, yes, but we beat them.
Duke is already safely a Quad 1 win for us.
 
#66      
Isn't debating a top 5 ranking and a 1 - 3 seed so much more enjoyable than life on the bubble?! In the past week, we've have had 2 extremely positive WSCR interviews with Parkins & Spiegel and Ayo and this morning with Haugh's interview with Shannon Ryan.
 
#67      
I love the polltracker.


When people talk about polls they seem to forget that it's an aggregation of votes. OSU lost, but one voter actually elevated them from 8th to 6th on their ballot. the two voters last week who had them at 5 raised them to 4. so while they dropped their 3 third place votes to four, others went up and not unreasonably.

They went from 4 votes below 4 to 25 votes below 4.

Jon Wilner from San Jose has us at 11 and Iowa at 4. Last week he had us at 14 with North Carolina at 24.

Lots of crazy outliers each week.

For a blast from the past, I remember skyrocketing in the polls after we barely lost to Kentucky on Christmas Eve 1983.
 
#68      
I love the polltracker.


When people talk about polls they seem to forget that it's an aggregation of votes. OSU lost, but one voter actually elevated them from 8th to 6th on their ballot. the two voters last week who had them at 5 raised them to 4. so while they dropped their 3 third place votes to four, others went up and not unreasonably.

They went from 4 votes below 4 to 25 votes below 4.

Jon Wilner from San Jose has us at 11 and Iowa at 4. Last week he had us at 14 with North Carolina at 24.

Lots of crazy outliers each week.

For a blast from the past, I remember skyrocketing in the polls after we barely lost to Kentucky on Christmas Eve 1983.
This just shows us "It don't mean a thing if you ain't got the ring"
 
#69      
Yeah in the end our ranking this week means nothing. If we want a #1 seed, have to beat OSU. Likely have to beat Michigan.
I agree with some of this, I do feel if we win then all remaining except scUM we will pass tOSU