Illinois Basketball Up to No. 16 in Recent AP Poll

Following Saturday’s (1/3) 73-65 victory over Penn State, Illinois Basketball has moved up 4 spots in the recent AP Top 25. According to the Associated Press, the Fighting Illini are now up to No. 16 (from 20th) in this week’s updated polls.

Brad Underwood’s crew is 11-3 on the season thus far, holding an early 2-1 record in conference, with their sole Big Ten loss coming at the hands of now 14-0 Nebraska, who knocked off the then 13th-ranked Illini on a buzzer beater from Jamarques Lawrence back in mid-December. However, since that frustrating loss, this highly anticipated Illinois team has locked in for 3 consecutive victories in convincing fashion over Mizzou (91-48, Braggin’ Rights), Southern University (90-55), and Penn State (73-65).

A home matchup vs a struggling 7-7 Rutgers team on Thursday (1/8) is a great opportunity for Illinois Basketball to snag their 4th consecutive victory and fine-tune themselves before a big-time top-20 matchup vs border rival, 19th-ranked Iowa, on Sunday (1/11). If the Illini can win both games, the Illini should almost certainly find themselves back within the top-15 and knocking on the door of the top-10 in the nation. 

Can the Illini continue their momentum forward into league play? Looming matchups with Rutgers, Iowa, Northwestern, and Minnesota will provide plenty of opportunity to do so. Then, a showdown at No. 5 Purdue on 1/24 will undoubtedly be a great midseason litmus test of Illinois’ progression.

No. 16 pic.twitter.com/DC5AAmXUeN

— Illinois Men’s Basketball (@IlliniMBB) January 5, 2026

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