CHAMPAIGN — The hype around Illinois basketball got a bit more tangible Monday with the release of the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll. For the first time in a decade, the Illini were included, checking in at No. 8 overall.
Illinois was last mentioned in the preseason AP Top 25 ahead of the 2010-11 season. Bruce Weber’s second-to-last Illini team was ranked No. 13 heading into the season, peaked at No. 12 after a 10-1 start and wound up unranked by the season’s end with a 20-14 record and second-round NCAA tournament exit to Kansas.
This year’s preseason ranking for Illinois comes after Brad Underwood’s squad finished the 2019-20 season ranked No. 21. The return of both Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn for another season propelled the Illini to their current spot.
It’s the 17th time Illinois has been renamed in the preseason AP Top 25 since 1962. The program’s highest preseason ranking came at No. 2 ahead of the 1984-85 season. Illinois has been ranked in the preseason top five three times and now in the top 10 nine times.
Scott Richey’s AP Top 25 ballot
1. Villanova
2. Baylor
3. Gonzaga
4. Virginia
5. Illinois
6. Duke
7. Kansas
8. Creighton
9. Iowa
10. Kentucky
11. Tennessee
12. Texas Tech
13. Wisconsin
14. Michigan State
15. West Virginia
16. Houston
17. North Carolina
18. Alabama
19. Arizona State
20. Texas
21. UCLA
22. Florida State
23. Michigan
24. LSU
25. Rutgers
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