After an offseason that saw Illinois coach Brad Underwood and his staff turn over the roster of an Elite Eight squad and replenish it with a group of wildly talented freshmen and transfers, expectations for the Illini headed into the 2024-25 season are all over the board. ESPN, which on Monday released the last update to its preseason Top 25 men’s college basketball rankings, left the Illini off its final list.
Of course, no program has ever won an NCAA championship for being named No. 1 in a preseason media poll, and it’s significant to note that the Illini are knocking on the door of ESPN’s Top 25, having been listed as one of five teams that are “next in line.”
We know you wanted a sneak peek 👀#Illini | #HTTO | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/wY9ByVuIlr
— Illinois Men’s Basketball (@IlliniMBB) October 8, 2024
Underwood isn’t likely to be sweating it, in any case – not after putting together the 10th-best overall recruiting class in the nation, according to 247 Sports. With a gifted group of 10 newcomers set to join returners Ty Rodgers and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, the Illini won’t lack for firepower – but questions about their chemistry and makeup won’t begin to be answered until well after tipoff of their Nov. 3 opener against Eastern Illinois.
In fact, Underwood’s new crew is widely viewed as one of the biggest wild cards in the country – a team with a lofty ceiling and a bottomed-out floor. Could the Illini make a national title run? Don’t put it past them. Is it possible they could be left out of the Big Dance entirely? Don’t put it past them.
Regardless of their record heading into March, the Illini will be battle-tested – for better or worse. The recently expanded 18-team Big Ten features four teams in ESPN’s preseason Top 25 (No. 16 Purdue, No. 18 Indiana, No. 24 UCLA and No. 25 Rutgers). And while they’ve been lying low in most of the early prognostications, Michigan State and Iowa can’t be forgotten.
The non-conference slate is tougher: Alabama (ESPN’s No. 2), Duke (No. 8), Tennessee (No. 13) and Arkansas (No. 14) all appear on Illinois’ 2024-25 schedule. Even the Illini’s preseason opponent, Ole Miss (No. 20) is no slouch.
Underwood, for one, isn’t talking about a rebuilding year: “We’re not satisfied,” he said at last week’s Big Ten men’s basketball media day. “The Elite Eight is a great step, but we’ve got two more we would like to play, and we’ve got to keep striving to get there.”
