Illinois Basketball maintains standings in metrics and AP Poll after tough week

News: Illinois basketball came in at number 18 overall in the most recent AP Poll rankings. That means that despite a tough home loss by 20 points to Maryland only bumped the Illini down one spot in the AP. After a gut-wrenching loss, however, Illinois responded pretty strongly without their starting center vs Northwestern. Without big man, Tomislav Ivisic, the Illini drubbed the Wildcats at home and played with that edge that was severely lacking vs Maryland. Despite the tough 21-point loss vs Maryland, the Illini also held strong in the metrics.

In the NET, Kenpom, and BartTorvik rankings, Illinois basketball actually maintained its strong position.

A tough schedule for a tough team

Per the NET rankings, Illinois sits at number 10 overall. They are 8-6 in the first two quadrants which is a pretty strong record. For reference, Michigan is currently 6-5 in games in the first two quadrants. On Kenpom, the Illini currently sit at number 10 overall. They are ranked 25th in offensive efficiency and 12th in defensive efficiency. Also, Kenpom rates the Illini’s strength of schedule as the 11th most difficult thus far. Per BartTorvik.com, the Illini continue to rank highly. Right now, the Illini are 7th overall in the Bart Torvik rankings.

The Illini have 11 games left on their schedule before the Big Ten Tournament. 7 of those games are quadrant one games. If the Illini can win all of their quadrant two games (vs Rutgers, Minnesota, UCLA, and Iowa) and at least two of their quadrant one games, the Illini should have no worries on selection Sunday.

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