College Basketball Rankings Put Illinois at No. 3 — and the Illini Opened the Season Like It in Champaign
Illinois' No. 3 preseason AP ranking is its highest since 2001-02, behind only Florida and Duke. On opening night at the State Farm Center, the Illini led FDU 67-20 at halftime and 120-45 in the closing seconds.
The college basketball rankings are out, and Illinois starts the season where it finished the last one — near the top of the sport. The Illini debuted at No. 3 in the preseason AP Top 25, behind No. 1 Florida and Duke, their highest preseason ranking since 2001-02 and the sixth time in seven seasons they have opened in the poll, according to the Illini Inquirer's preview of Monday's opener.
The ranking is built on what came back. Illinois reached the Final Four last spring and returns five of its eight rotation players, including three starters, even after second-team All-American guard Keaton Wagler's one-and-done jump to the NBA, Field Level Media's Top 25 noted. The Illini averaged 99.0 points across three exhibitions, and they did it while preseason All-American forward David Mirkovic worked back from foot surgery — a return complicated Saturday night by an emergency appendectomy that, Sports Illustrated's game thread reported, could delay his timeline.
Opening night supplied the first evidence. Illinois hosted FDU — picked to finish tied for sixth in the NEC — at the State Farm Center as a 37.5-point favorite, and the game was settled by halftime: 67-20. In the closing seconds the live scoreboard read 120-45, a rout in every particular, exactly the kind of first impression a No. 3 team is supposed to make against an overmatched visitor.
For Chicago-area fans, the rankings carry a state flag this season: the road to March starts with an Illinois team the voters believe can win the whole thing. The Illini's next test of that belief comes as the nonconference schedule stiffens in the weeks ahead — but on night one, No. 3 looked like No. 3.
