Looks like relevance to me.
15 Must-See Non-Conference College Basketball Games For The 2020-21 Season
FOX Sports will televise the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off opener on Nov. 26 at 12:30 p.m. CT, featuring a top-10 tilt between Kansas, last year’s No. 1 team in the final Associated Press poll, and Gonzaga, which was No. 2 in the final AP last year.www.forbes.com
Illini Basketball 2020-2021
- Status
JFGsCoffeeMug
BU:1 Trash cans:0
- Chicago
You should regularly check the first post of this thread for updates. Dan will periodically post updated schedule information there as it is released. As of this post, you haven't missed anything. There is still very little known about the upcoming schedule.
There are a few pieces known that aren't in Dan's top level post.
1. The first game (on Nov. 25) will be against NC A&T
2. The 3rd game may be pushed from Nov. 27 to Nov. 28th if the Illinois-Ohio State football game is flexed to a Friday kickoff.
3. There are discussions with Missouri to still have the Bragging Rights game. If it's similar to past years it would be on 12/19. Missouri has another game scheduled on 12/22 already and an MTE with unannounced dates. Still waiting for more information on this.
The following is pure speculation/conjecture on my part... I'm expecting that the B10 will still play two (2) December conference games this year with the first, as per usual, being held the weekend after the ACC-B10 Challenge (12/11 to 12/13) and the second being held between 12/15 and 12/20. I would guess that Illinois would be playing on 12/11 or 12/12 and 12/15 or 12/16. That would keep 12/19 available for the potential bragging rights matchup. Illinois would be allowed to schedule 1 other non-conference game. I expect they will probably take a break after 12/19 so the kids can see their families and then need to quarantine before playing again but they may try to schedule the last non-con matchup just before conference play kicks off in January, otherwise there's a gap between the Baylor and Duke games such that they could schedule an easy home matchup on 12/5.
Dan
Admin
Dan
Admin
Illinois #8 in AP Poll
1. Gonzaga
2. Baylor
3. Villanova
4. Virginia
5. Iowa
6. Kansas
7. Wisconsin
8. Illinois
9. Duke
10. Kentucky
apnews.com
1. Gonzaga
2. Baylor
3. Villanova
4. Virginia
5. Iowa
6. Kansas
7. Wisconsin
8. Illinois
9. Duke
10. Kentucky
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 2025-26 season.
apnews.com
hooraybeer
- Peoria, IL
MainelyIllini
- uh, Maine
Right? SMH. They have Wisconsin in there. Hahahaha. Oh wait...
Illinois #8 in AP Poll
1. Gonzaga
2. Baylor
3. Villanova
4. Virginia
5. Iowa
6. Kansas
7. Wisconsin
8. Illinois
9. Duke
10. Kentucky
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 2025-26 season.
7 B1G teams in the Top 25 and Indiana received 40 votes. Notably 3 of those teams were ranked 23, 24, and 25 but that's still a great B1G presence in the preseason poll.
This may not go over well with everyone on this board, but I'll be cheering for all those in the B10 to win their non-con matchups (including Iowa and Indiana) so that when we beat them in conference play it helps our resume out that much more. I'd love to see 8-9 Top 25 B10 teams by the time conference play comes around (with Illinois on top after defeating both Baylor and Duke)!
Not sure why Wisconsin is ranked above us, but still very cool to see us in the top 10 ahead of Duke and Kentucky.
The Dave
- CA
Interesting...IMO (and this is for sports in general in the age of COVID) home-field/court means less and the better team is more likely to win with few/no fans in the stand. What will really be interesting is if they change their Quadrant values given home-court isn't what it normally will be. Fans won't be pumping up teams or influencing refs.
I suppose in the end everything stays the same, even though it technically shouldn't.
The Dave
- CA
They return all 5 starters from last year. They may not be better than our starting 5, but they were a good team last year and consistency carries a lot of value when no games have been played.
Think about it ILLINI is ranked ahead of Dook and KY in the pre-season poll. UK is going to be good with Saars on their team along with Boston. They will be who we think they will be. Go ILLINI!
OurMottoisOskeeWowWow
- Illinois
Top Ten baby!
Let's revisit this after our trip to Durham, NC.
The Dave
- CA
Bah! This is the interwebz! It's custom made for crazy statements and hot takes. And my take is barely luke-warm.
Of course nobody ever made money betting the NCAA would do something rational...
Illinir1
- Camdenton, MO
Illinois #8 in AP Poll
1. Gonzaga
2. Baylor
3. Villanova
4. Virginia
5. Iowa
6. Kansas
7. Wisconsin
8. Illinois
9. Duke
10. Kentucky
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 2025-26 season.
How the AP Preseason Basketball Poll Predicts Success
"But it gets better when you look at the top teams. If a team is ranked in the Top 10 to start the year, it’s close to a virtual lock that they’ll be ranked in the final poll, which is released prior to the NCAA tournament. Of the 210 teams ranked in the preseason top 10 since 2000, 173 finished in the AP Top 25 — a strong 82.4 percent."
Illinois rarely gets any respect. If you dig deep into Wisconsin, they rarely lose at home. Last year We were the only team to beat them in Madison. This season the home court will be greatly diminished. Talent should win out since limited or no fans. Illini have a big advantage in talent.
TheAngryBavarian
- Charleston/Collinsville
Honestly...play it at the Hearnes Center (I think you can still play basketball in there), make it a neutral site game, even if you play it in Columbia.
The high WI ratings are because WI finished last year with 8 straight wins and has everyone of significance back. What people are missing is that those 8 wins were against the bottom 8 teams in the league. I expect WI to finish 3rd or 4th.
Whisky ranks 10 of 14 BIG teams (per VC avg stars) but they are an experienced, disciplined well coached team that doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. That in an arena with loud fans is a challenge.
Was surprised when I looked at this to find Iowa ranked 9 of 14. Indiana, MSU, Purdue, OSU are top four. Doesn’t seem to be much correlation between player rankings and predicted finishes this year.
Was surprised when I looked at this to find Iowa ranked 9 of 14. Indiana, MSU, Purdue, OSU are top four. Doesn’t seem to be much correlation between player rankings and predicted finishes this year.
iLL 89ers
- Dallas,TX , Born and raised in Alton,Illinois
You got that right ,and with Illinois beating them last year with both teams returning pretty much their same respective teams . Rankings are what they are , just take care of business when time comes.
Every year, in basketball and football, there is a team who is ranked around the top ten who drops out and is never heard from again. Usually, that is somewhat predictable. This year, that will not be the Illini. This team should be as hungry for success and carrying as big of a chip on their shoulder as any team ever. Not to mention the fans....who, I hope, temper their enthusiasm to include class behavior and showing respect for opponents....unless, of course, its Michigan, who is yet again the perfect example of over-ranked failure. Feel free to pile as much disdain on Michigan as you like.
- Status