CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — After finishing with the program's most wins in 15 years, Illinois Men's Basketball will make another run at a national title, beginning the year at No. 11 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll.
Being listed among the nation's 25-best teams is familiar territory for the Illini, who earned a spot each week during the 2020-21 season. Illinois finished the regular season at No. 2 in the final AP rankings.
That Illini group went 24-7 (16-4, Big Ten), won the Big Ten Tournament, and earned a No. 1 seed entering March Madness.
However, the success of last season ended in disappointment, as Illinois was knocked out in a second-round loss to 8th-seeded Loyola-Chicago in the NCAA Tournament.
This year's team will look a bit different after the departures of key players in now-Chicago Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu, Giorgi Bezhanishvili (NBA draft), and Adam Miller (transfer-LSU). But, returning for the Illini are veterans Kofi Cockburn, Trent Frazier, and rising star Andre Curbelo who will be relied on heavily by head coach Brad Underwood.
"As we move forward, as a collective group, we need to be tougher than we were a year ago," Underwood said. "I think we have to be more consistent (mentally), we can't just be when things are good and easy. I'm really challenging our guys with that and trying to do that every single day in practice, being as consistent as we can with our effort."
It won't be easy to replicate the success of last season, but Illinois should once again be a conference contender. The Illini are one of four Big Ten teams ranked inside the AP Top 25:
- Michigan (No. 6).
- Purdue (No. 7).
- Ohio State (No. 17).
Illinois will play the first of two exhibition games beginning Saturday against St. Francis and another on Oct. 29 against Indiana (PA), before beginning the regular season at home against Jackson State on Nov. 9.
On the Iowa side of the river:
Drake didn't crack the Top 25 but did receive four committee votes and was the only Missouri Valley team to do so.
The Bulldogs will bring back eight seniors after finishing 26-5 (15-3, MVC) and earning an 11-seed by beating Wichita State in a First-Four play-in game. Drake went on to lose in the first round to an eventually Elite 8-bound USC team.
An exhibition match is scheduled against Drury on November 4, before Drake begins non-conference play at home against Coe College on November 9.
Left out of the preseason Top 25 conversation entirely were the Hawkeyes who will start a new era without reigning Naismith Player of the Year Luka Garza (NBA draft), Joe Wieskamp (NBA draft), and CJ Fredrick (transfer-Kentucky).
Last season the Hawkeyes went 22-9 (14-6, Big Ten) en route to a No. 2 seed in March Madness and a disappointing second-round exit to seventh-seeded Oregon.
Red-shirt seniors Connor McCaffery and Jordan Bohannon will return and lead hopes to bring Iowa back into Top-25 relevancy in what's bound to be a tough Big Ten conference.
The Hawkeyes will play an exhibition against Slippery Rock on November 5 and then open the regular season at home against Longwood University on November 9.
The full list of preseason AP Top 25 rankings can be found here.