Illini Basketball 2026-2027

the only thing I know is if we lose to uconn again I'm gonna lose it. coming to the United center after the last few games, we better be ready to jump down their throats! I'll be there and if your want to be the best, beat the best. I'm done getting complexes from playing other teams, I'm ready to keep causing them

Fly Illini Fly! said:

we shouldn't be ranked ahead of them preseason, assuming the quality of team is close, until we beat them.

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It’s just the opposite of what I’ve seen so far in various rankings that have come out- Illinois and UConn are both at or near the top, close to one another in the rankings, yet with Illinois typically ahead of them.

Fly Illini Fly! said:

I don't think the OP claimed we can never beat UCONN.

It's that we shouldn't be ranked ahead of them preseason, assuming the quality of team is close, until we beat them.

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Two things:

1. Last season’s results have no bearing on next season’s pre-season rankings. Texas finished last year at #38 in Torvik but they’re preseason #14 in Torvik. Because some teams lose pieces, while other teams retain and add pieces.

2. Head to head results don’t always make one team better than another. Match ups and small sample sizes impact that. Wisconsin had the same record against us last year as UConn. Does that mean Wisconsin should be ranked ahead of us pre-season next year too?