Can Illinois Basketball Handle No. 20 Wisconsin, New No. 1 Tennessee?

Talk about a not-so-sweet 16 for Illinois' men's basketball team. The Illini (6-2) dropped 16 spots in the AP rankings thanks to a 70-66 overtime loss at Northwestern. Last week, the team was 19th in the Top 25. One week – one game – later, it's 10th among others receiving votes, or 35th overall.
Later in the season, individual results won't have such sway in the polling. For an Illini team that hasn't had many opportunities to strut its stuff against strong opposition, it's still very early.
One chance to make a move in the poll comes quickly this week, with No. 20 Wisconsin at State Farm Center on Tuesday (8 p.m. CST, Peacock). After that comes the biggie, an extraordinary chance to host the new No. 1 team in the country, Tennessee (4:30 p.m. Saturday, FOX).
new polls just dropped
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) December 9, 2024
read more → https://t.co/iuM0M1mt64 pic.twitter.com/F3UbBv6ixe
Illinois hasn't beaten a No. 1 team since February 7, 2013, when Tyler Griffey beat the buzzer with a layup that knocked off Indiana.
An 0-2 week would leave the Illini in an already precarious position as far as their national reputation and even their eventual postseason résumé. But a 2-0 week would have the opposite effect and could vault them close to the top 10.
As one of 62 voters in the weekly AP poll, I had the Illini at No. 20 on my preseason ballot and have kept them on my weekly ballot since. This week, I have them at No. 24, their lowest appearance on my ballot to date.
The Big Ten is represented in the new poll by No. 11 Purdue, No. 12 Oregon, No. 14 Michigan, No. 20 Wisconsin, No. 21 Michigan State and No. 24 UCLA.
My latest ballot: 1. Tennessee, 2. Auburn, 3. Iowa State, 4. Marquette, 5. Kentucky, 6. Alabama, 7. Duke, 8. Gonzaga, 9. Florida, 10. Purdue, 11. Ole Miss, 12. Oklahoma, 13. Oregon, 14. Kansas, 15. UConn, 16. Michigan State, 17. Michigan, 18. Clemson, 19. Texas A&M, 20. Wisconsin, 21. Houston, 22. San Diego State, 23. Cincinnati, 24. Illinois, 25. Mississippi State.
Week 6 AP Top 25
1. Tennessee (58 first-place votes)
2. Auburn (3)
3. Iowa State (1)
4. Duke
5. Kentucky
6. Marquette
7. Alabama
8. Gonzaga
9. Florida
10. Kansas
11. Purdue
12. Oregon
13. Oklahoma
14. Michigan
15. Houston
16. Clemson
17. Texas A&M
18. UConn
19. Ole Miss
20. Wisconsin
21. Michigan State
22. Cincinnati
23. San Diego State
24. UCLA
25. Mississippi State