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!
-
Basketball6 days ago
Illinois basketball to play exhibition with defending national Champions Florida Gators
-
Basketball5 days ago
How Illinois basketball will make major adjustments defensively
-
Basketball5 days ago
Top-50 Shooting Guard Adam Oumiddoch Schedules Visit with Illinois Basketball
-
Football3 days ago
Watch: Luke Altmyer catches first TD pass on trick play vs USC
-
Basketball6 days ago
Four-star guard Lucas Morillo set to take official visit to Illinois
-
Basketball4 days ago
Top-5 2026 SG Adam Oumiddoch Puts Illinois in his Final 5
-
Basketball18 hours ago
Former Illinois basketball star Trent Frazier hits milestone overseas
-
Football6 hours ago
Illinois Football injury report heading into Cannon week vs Purdue