The Athletic ranks #illini basketball No. 1 in its first 2026-27 preseason rankings following the #NBADraft withdrawal date
Why it matters & what it means ⤵️
https://t.co/7SF7cPC9lm
Illinois will now return five players who averaged 17.2 MPG or more from last season's team that reached the Final Four.
An incredible level of retention in Champaign.
Source: Next season's game between UConn and Illinois will be played on Friday, December 4th at the United Center in Chicago.
The two teams played last season at MSG prior to meeting again in the Final Four.
Elite 8 polls have closed! As many predicted, the Elite 8 was chalk with all of the 1 seeds moving on to the Final Four. 4 Illini legends are left with the Final Four polls in the thread below! These polls will be open for 2 days to allow for more votes.
(DADDY) BRAD UNDERWOOD ERA PLAYER’S MADNESS THREAD 🔷🔶🔷🔶
- Polls open for 24 hours
- Vote for players using your own discretion
- RTs appreciated!
Seeding based on:
1. Overall contributions to winning/program
2. Longevity in program
3. Team success
4. Whatever I felt like