No. 13 Illinois (11-3, 3-1 Big Ten) opened the New Year with a bang, hitting the road for its first ever Big Ten West Coast road trip, which included a Thursday night matchup with then-No. 9 Oregon and a Sunday afternoon contest against Washington.
After taking down the Ducks 109-77 in Eugene behind a three-point barrage (16-for-29), the Illini made a beeline north to Seattle, this time barely escapeing with an 81-77 win over the Huskies.
In posting the biggest road win against a top-10 team in NCAA history and taking another conference road victory – a challenge against nearly any Big Ten foe – the Illini caught the attention of all college basketball, including the NCAA’s own Andy Katz.
In fact, Illinois’ performance in the first week of 2025 drew the highest praise Katz has to offer over such a stretch: his Team of the Week award.
🏆 Weekly Awards from @TheAndyKatz 🏆
Team of the Week: Illinois
Player of the Week: Javon Small pic.twitter.com/oLhvezb0Bx— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 6, 2025
On top of that, Katz called the Illini “one of the best teams in the country,” which he then backed up in his own Power 37 – where Illinois landed at No. 10.
The Illini checked in as the highest-slotted Big Ten team in Katz’s Power 37, the first of eight total conference squads on the list.
🚨 NEW #Power37 from @TheAndyKatz!
1. Auburn
2. Tennessee
3. Iowa State
4. Duke
5. Alabama
6. Kentucky
7. Florida
8. UConn
9. Marquette
10. Illinois👉 https://t.co/BrOnUAVZG0 pic.twitter.com/1QCeXGXuR1
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 6, 2025
With yet another quick turnaround, Illinois will host Penn State (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten) in Champaign on Wednesday (8 p.m. CT, on Big Ten Network) in its next opportunity to climb up Katz’s rankings – and, more importantly, the conference standings.
All of the Big Ten teams in Katz’s Power 37:
No. 29: Maryland
No. 28: Wisconsin
No. 26: Oregon
No. 25: UCLA
No. 24: Nebraska
No. 23: Michigan
No. 18: Purdue
No. 15: Michigan State
No. 10: Illinois
