The excitement of March Madness lies in the certainty of the uncertainty. Only in the Big Dance can a virtual unknown – Florida Atlantic, Loyola (Chicago) and VCU, we’re looking at you – string together a few wins in the NCAA Tournament and suddenly be standing on top of the world. But even those come-out-of-nowhere Cinderellas have to come from somewhere – and someone has to put a name to a slipper.
College basketball expert Andy Katz is one of them. On Wednesday, after the release of his Power 37, he identified his 10 dark horses to make the Final Four, as cited by NCAA.com and NCAA March Madness.
Of note were the four Big Ten teams Katz indentified among those who could make a run – including Indiana, Rutgers, Ohio State and, yes, Illinois.
Don’t sleep 💤 @TheAndyKatz selects 🔟 Final Four Dark Horses to watch for in March 🗓️ pic.twitter.com/jSLEso5ma4
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) October 16, 2024
Entering the season unranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2020, the Illini – revamped but seemingly reloaded – will be playing in 2024-25 under a wide range of expectations.
For example, despite AP voters leaving Illinois on the outside looking in, Katz himself ranks the Illini at No. 18 in his newly christened Power 37.
The debut AP Top 25 Poll has 4 #B1GMBBall teams…@TheAndyKatz thinks it should have 6. 🏀
Here’s who Andy would have included in the rankings and where: pic.twitter.com/0Sf2G4NS5t
— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) October 15, 2024
Katz, in a video hit discussing the AP Top 25 and his own rankings looking through the lens of the Big Ten, mentions returning swingman Ty Rodgers and transfer point guard Kylan Boswell (Arizona). But as most close observers of the Illini know by now, there is plenty more to be intrigued by in Champaign.
Transfer forward Ben Humrichous (Evansville) has been the talk of the offseason, freshman center Morez Johnson Jr. brings a new dimension with his length and explosiveness around the basket on both ends. And freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis, who is currently projected to be the No. 6 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, according to a mock draft from The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie, is the kind of player who can make the difference between simply qualifying for the NCAAs and making a deep run in the tournament.
