Where Illinois Basketball Ranked in CBS Sports Top 25 and 1

Where Illinois Basketball Ranked in CBS Sports Top 25 and 1

Illinois Basketball had quite a successful road trip. They finished 2-1 against three legitimate opponents. Though Rutgers may not be as strong as they were in previous years, winning on their home court in dominant fashion is still a Quad-1 victory. They then went on to win a high-octane game against Florida Atlantic at Madison Square Garden. Illinois led the Tennessee Volunteers at the half and actually held a five-point lead early in the second half. However, Illinois ran out of gas and dropped that game. The Illini will get a week off to recover and relax before taking the home floor against Colgate on December 17th.

Illinois has some kinks to work out, however, they are drawing some national attention. Gary Parrish of CBS Sports and the Eye on College Basketball Podcast (the best college basketball podcast out there by the way), thought highly of the Illini in his weekly Top 25 and 1.

Top 10?

Illinois Basketball was ranked number 10 in Parrish’s rankings. For superstition purposes, Parrish praised the Illini heavily after their wins against UCLA and Texas last year, only to see Illinois subsequently fall off the rails. As of now, the ranking has some warrant. On Kenpom, Illinois is ranked 15th overall with a top 25 adjusted offense and top 15 adjusted defense. Through the next few weeks, I want to see Illinois work on playing through the post. The point guard question remains and Illinois struggled when they were forced into a half-court offense. They ask Terrence Shannon Jr and Marcus Domask to create off of pick and rolls, however, that is simply not their game.

https://t.co/nNE9q2vTyv

— ᗩᑎT ᗯᖇIGᕼT (@itsAntWright) December 9, 2023

When Illinois played through the post with Domask, Coleman Hawkins, and Dain Dainja, they were able to get better-quality shots. That is what kept them in the game during the first 25 minutes of the game. Ant Wright discussed that in our halftime space and I do think that Illinois needs to play through the mid-post more.

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