"What will get me the most views/clicks." Staying with the crowd doesn't get eyeballs. Bizarre picks gets some eyeballs until people realize you are just full of ... and tune you out entirely.
Illinois #3 in Preseason AP Poll
Battle89
- Cary-Grove, the better Trojan team
All true, though I think of all schools we have given a UConn writer the most ammunition the last few years to feel that Illinois may not be all that. Hoping this year we turn that around.
When your biggest hater has you at #6"This song is dedicated to CJ Moore of the Athletic and Percy Allen of the Seattle Times"
All votes can be found here, UConn Beat Writer Dave Borges is Illini Hater of the Week:
Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball at College Poll Tracker
collegepolltracker.com
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
Only in 1984-85 season (#2) did the Illini have a higher preseason ranking. The 2001-02 season likewise started at #3, while the 2004-05 runner up team started at #5.
Biggest hype going into season in recent memory, and I am all for it!
Biggest hype going into season in recent memory, and I am all for it!
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Guess weāll just have to have our āWake Forest momentā via pounding #1 Duke on the road.
I want that uconn game slightly more. need to get that monkey off our back. plus it's in Chicago and I'll be there.Guess weāll just have to have our āWake Forest momentā via pounding #1 Duke on the road.
but I will settle for beating them both
Joel Goodson
- 9th man conundrum
sky high ceiling, but how is Brad gonna address our 9th man conundrum?
Need to show it on the defensive end. Canāt allow opposing lead guards to tee off on us like last year and even vs. Cinci.
I believe the program is currently where most of us have hoped that someday it would and could be.....listing a few reasons why I believe this is the best era of Illini basketball in my lifetime (and I'm 75 years old) and looks to be in a position to sustain that level of excellence for several years....ranked in the top 10 (hopefully most of the season) and every year...possible back to back final four appearances, and a good chance to hang a national championship banner, if not every year, at least every 2-3 years....conference championship contender every year....gaining the attention of multiple 5 star recruits each year and hopefully landing at least one if not a couple each year...and now the era of NIL and I would say leading in the portal recruiting wars....absolutely killing it in the overseas battle for top tier talent...possibly the best all around coaching staff in the conference and for sure top 5 in the country....not to mention one of the best if not the best strength and conditioning programs in division 1 basketball....putting players in the NBA each and every year adds to the validity that this program is a destination for young talented players that want a championship ring and are striving to reach that next level and become some of the best players (and at some point highest paid players) in the league....Illinois has had good teams and made some good runs throughout my lifetime...but this seems more (at least at this point in time) sustainable than any other time in the past 60 years....I really hope this year ends the drought, and we are able to hang a national championship banner... but if not....I have confidence that next year 27-28 and beyond will have us in the mix for that elusive national championship...so I'm really enjoying last season...this season....and beyond....I really, really, really am!
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Oh for sure haha, the Duke game just had more parallels. As someone who will also be there, whose parents might he visiting for my birthday, who very well might be getting his last Illini basketball season living in Chicago (likely have to move in April after 7+ years here) and who saw us lose to UConn in person at the Final Four last year ā¦ that game will mean an irrationally huge amount to me.
If anyone sees a seemingly nice guy who got too drunk (and who is being policed by his wonderful and beautiful blonde wife), itās me because thatās the only way I could handle the pressure of that game.
Tate always said the AP poll was a joke. He had a vote but most of the teams he had never seen play.
Maybe, but I put Indiana basketball and Nebraska football in the same bucket, namely Iāll believe it when I see it. Woodson had talented rosters too.
that may be true but it's better than the coaches poll... which is filled out by coaches (or their assistants) who don't watch other teams in a broad sense every week.
the AP poll is flawed but still attempts to maintain the smallest level of "journalistic integrity" which is on extremely short supply these days.
that's why I prefer analytic based rankings. harder to add bias... just takes a few games to be accurate
LouHenson
- Naples Florida
I am 65 and I agree with you very much. As good as our teams of the 1980ās to even the early 2000ās our teams were always dependent on Chicago area talent (or early on Peoria would produce tremendous talent)? It was always a Livingston, a Cliff, an Anthony Davis that would disappoint and determine a great deal of our fate.
This feels totally different, it feels much more sustainable than the total reliance on Chicago players. Now if they want to play in Champaign if not thatās fine. We are really looking for āfitā now anyways?
IMO MIchigan should be easily top 15. Certrainly not as loaded as last year, but still a very talented team.
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
"This song is dedicated to CJ Moore of the Athletic and Percy Allen of the Seattle Times"
All votes can be found here, UConn Beat Writer Dave Borges is Illini Hater of the Week:
Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball at College Poll Tracker
For some weird reason, UConn people really seem to hate Illinois. Perhaps itās because we arenāt afraid to call Dan Hurley out for what he really is since so many of us were familiar with a certain Robert Montgomery Knightā¦ā¦
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
The "official" listing of our top 25 games this year, as of today!
Tuesday, Nov. 10 - #3 Illinois at #19 Texas Tech
Tuesday, Nov. 17 - #3 Illinois at #2 Duke
Friday, Dec. 4 - #4 UConn vs. #3 Illinois (Chicago, IL)
Wednesday, Jan. 27 - #21 USC at #3 Illinois
Tuesday, Feb. 2 - #22 UCLA at #3 Illinois
Friday, Feb. 5 - #6 Michigan State at #3 Illinois
Tuesday, Feb. 9 - #3 Illinois at #16 Michigan
And we have the following games vs. teams receiving votes:
Sunday, Dec. 20 - #3 Illinois vs. RV #26 Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
Tuesday, Jan. 5 - RV #28 Purdue at #3 Illinois
Saturday, Jan. 9 - RV #29 Ohio State at #3 Illinois
Tuesday, Jan. 19 - RV #27 Nebraska at #3 Illinois
Sunday, Jan. 24 - #3 Illinois at RV #36 Indiana
Saturday, Jan. 30 - RV #30 North Carolina vs. #3 Illinois (Nashville, TN)
Friday, Feb. 12 - #3 Illinois at RV #28 Purdue
Sunday, March 6 - RV #34 Iowa at #3 Illinois
Not to mention plenty of other "good" games like two against Wisconsin and Maryland. Gonna be a very fun year!!
Tuesday, Nov. 10 - #3 Illinois at #19 Texas Tech
Tuesday, Nov. 17 - #3 Illinois at #2 Duke
Friday, Dec. 4 - #4 UConn vs. #3 Illinois (Chicago, IL)
Wednesday, Jan. 27 - #21 USC at #3 Illinois
Tuesday, Feb. 2 - #22 UCLA at #3 Illinois
Friday, Feb. 5 - #6 Michigan State at #3 Illinois
Tuesday, Feb. 9 - #3 Illinois at #16 Michigan
And we have the following games vs. teams receiving votes:
Sunday, Dec. 20 - #3 Illinois vs. RV #26 Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
Tuesday, Jan. 5 - RV #28 Purdue at #3 Illinois
Saturday, Jan. 9 - RV #29 Ohio State at #3 Illinois
Tuesday, Jan. 19 - RV #27 Nebraska at #3 Illinois
Sunday, Jan. 24 - #3 Illinois at RV #36 Indiana
Saturday, Jan. 30 - RV #30 North Carolina vs. #3 Illinois (Nashville, TN)
Friday, Feb. 12 - #3 Illinois at RV #28 Purdue
Sunday, March 6 - RV #34 Iowa at #3 Illinois
Not to mention plenty of other "good" games like two against Wisconsin and Maryland. Gonna be a very fun year!!
I'd add to this -
The staff are good people. We're 10 seasons into Brad Underwood, and this is not a scandal plagued program or one living on the edge -- you see players who genuinely want to come back here after they've made it, and guys who could shop for a bag that stay. We won't win all those, but they've got a great record.
Josh is amazing and supports his guys 100%
Fan support and boosters willing to put their $ and time to help the program believe in them too.
How can you not be excited as a fan with the trajectory of this program? Feels like a dream going into last season and now this one.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
Given how loaded that November/early November schedule looks, the Illini could easily be #1 going into the second week of December or near the back end of the top 25. No matter what, we are going to have a lot of eyeballs on our early product.
I am so happy that Brad has the schedule stacked year in and out early in the season...though it does bring out the negative nellies complaining when we have 2-3 losses in December.