Champaign – A year ago, Illinois enjoyed one of the best regular seasons in the history of the program, but had to deal with the pain of the early end of the NCAA tournament.
Balancing their first big tent tournament title with the achievement of the first seed and the elimination of the second round by Loyola is what Illinois fans have been doing since March last year. However, despite losing one of the best players in the country to the NBA, Irini has a strong roster to take the next step during the 2021-2022 campaign.
Many people in the country believe the same, which was reflected in the pre-season rankings released on Monday.
Brad Underwood’s Ilini was ranked 11th in the first AP Top 25 Men’s Basketball vote of the season, and the team has been on the list for the second consecutive year. Last season, Illinois was ranked 8th to start the season and climbed to 2nd place in the country throughout the season.
Ilini is one of five big ten teams located behind Michigan (6th) and Purdue University (7th), and in front of Ohio State University (17th) and Maryland (21st). Gonzaga, the national runner-up from last season, is ranked number one in the top five with UCLA, Kansas, Villanova and Texas.
Despite losing the first team All-American Guard Ayodsummu drafted to the Bulls this summer, Irini returns a strong team with the remaining players and some new additions. Center Coffey Cockburn and guards Trent Frazier, Damonty Williams and Andre Crubero have returned from last season’s team, with Omarpain (forward) and Alfonso Plummer joining the team.
Illinois will face St. Francis (IL) at State Farm Center on Saturday, with the opening round of Jackson State University on November 9th in Champaign.
Illinois ranked 11th in the first AP Top 25 Men’s Basketball Vote
Source link Illinois ranked 11th in the first AP Top 25 Men’s Basketball Vote
The post Illinois ranked 11th in the first AP Top 25 Men’s Basketball Vote appeared first on Illinois News Today.
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