Football
Illinois Basketball Tops Ryan Hammer’s Preseason Rankings
College Basketball analyst Ryan Hammer has released his Big Ten Preseason Power Rankings, which certainly favor Illinois Basketball.

The Big Ten will have a new look in 2024, as recent expansion has added four new programs (Oregon, Washington, UCLA, USC) to the conference. Despite some unfamiliar faces on the schedule, many outlets believe that the original members of the league will continue to remain at the top. Some experts therefore believe Illinois Basketball will be the top dog of the Big Ten come first tipoff in November.
Of course, only time will tell how the season will truly unfold. However, it is a positive to have national analysts projecting the Illini click.
College Basketball analyst Ryan Hammer has predicted that Illinois Basketball will be the best team in the conference entering the 2024 season. Despite having a lot of new and unknown talent on the Illini roster, Hammer believes that Illinois is the team to beat. However, other Big Ten powers do lurk closely behind.
Hammer states “I look at Illinois and I see the best team in the Big Ten. To be fair, it’s razor-thin margins at the top.”
My Big Ten preseason power rankings⬇️
League is already a giant mosh pit & now there’s 18 teams… will be a mess per usual but a fun one with 10+ tourney teams pic.twitter.com/Lpnr1CtmgW
— Ryan Hammer🔨 (@ryanhammer09) October 8, 2024
Hammers Big Ten Preseason Power Rankings
- Illinois
- Purdue
- Indiana
- UCLA
- Rutgers
- Maryland
- Oregon
- Michigan State
- Iowa
- Michigan
- USC
- Ohio State
- Wisconsin
- Washington
- Nebraska
- Northwestern
- Penn State
- Minnesota

Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for reading Armchair Illini. We at Armchair Illini are proudly sponsored by Uncle Fluffy’s Beard Company, the top specialty boutique for homemade beard balms and oils in the state of Illinois. Check out the vast array of Organic products here to keep your facial hair healthy, tame, and smelling great!
For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Publisher at alexkyi13@gmail.com. Please use our Seatgeek code for $20 off your purchase on Seatgeek.com: ARMCHAIRILLINOIS. Certainly, It is because of your support that we have become one of the fastest-growing Illinois media outlets around!
-
Basketball5 days ago
Illini wing Andrej Stojakovic suffers a knee sprain
-
Football5 days ago
News: Illinois Football Sold Out vs USC
-
Football5 days ago
How Illinois Football Can Silence Duke on the Road
-
Football7 days ago
News: Illinois Football Jumps to No. 11 in Recent AP Rankings
-
Football2 days ago
Illinois Football Rises to No. 9 in Week 3 AP Poll
-
Football1 day ago
3 Illinois Football Players Who Drove Victory Over Duke
-
Football4 days ago
Why Illinois football will pull off an upset vs the Duke Blue Devils
-
Football5 days ago
Illinois Football Preview: Duke’s Manny Diaz Discusses the Illini