Key Takeaways From Illinois Basketball Landing in KenPom Preseason Top 5

The Illini offense may be a spot lower than expected in KenPom, and the defense is surprisingly low on the list

Dec 6, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood yells to his bench against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

KenPom, the highly reputable college basketball metric used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee, released its 2026-27 preseason ratings on Sunday. Illinois, as expected, was near the top of the overall rankings.

Where did Illinois land in KenPom’s 2026-27 preseason rankings?

Apr 4, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood reacts after a play against the UConn Huskies during the first half of a semifinal of the Final Four of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Illini are slotted as the No. 4 team in the country heading into 2026-27, per KenPom. They trail No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Florida and No. 3 Houston. The margin between Illinois and Houston is fairly large, while Arizona is hot on the Illini’s heels.

Illinois is the only Big Ten team among KenPom's top five and one of just two – Michigan State is No. 7 – in the top 15. Michigan ranks a surprisingly low No. 28, with the quartet of Nebraska (No. 16), Ohio State (No. 21), Purdue (No. 24) and UCLA (No. 27) slotting ahead of the reigning national champs.

Key takeaways from Illinois’ preseason KenPom rankings

Nov 19, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood yells to his team during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Illini offense is not ranked No. 1

Contrary to popular belief, Illinois will not enter 2026-27 with college basketball's top offense, at least according to KenPom. That honor will go to Florida, which finished last year with the No. 9 offense but is returning essentially its entire core.

Illinois, meanwhile, notably lost the engine to its 2025-26 offense – Keaton Wagler – in the offseason, but the program reloaded in a massive way. The Illini should be even more diverse offensively, somehow boasting an even longer list of bucket-getters and playmakers than a year ago.

A little taste of what’s to come. pic.twitter.com/XArQkLd4AC

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) October 12, 2026

Admittedly, though, none among them have yet proven to be uber-efficient go-to options in Wagler's class. That said, many have shown enough glimpses to convince us that this offense can be as good as last year’s – if not better.

Illinois is the only top-five team without a top-10 defense

Kansas in 2022 is the last team to win a national title without a top-10 defense (No. 17 defense). Illinois’ was No. 20 last year. In 2026-27, it is projected to have the No. 22 defensive unit.

The good news for Illinois coach Brad Underwood: The Illini have all year to climb the charts on that end (as they did late last season). The even better news: With their personnel, they should. Illinois has better on-ball defenders across the board than it had a year ago, not to mention some elite rim protectors.

It will all come down to communication and cohesion, and it’ll be defensive coordinator Cam Crocker’s job (with the help of Underwood and his entire staff) to ensure it doesn’t take the Illini until March to finally click on that end.

The 2026 NCAA Tournament showed that Illinois is capable of being a very good defensive team. The ceiling is even higher on that side of the floor in 2026-27. If it's reached, a top-five defense isn’t out of the question – which would likely make the Illini the national title favorite come March.