Busting Brackets
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Big Ten Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2019-2020 season

By Austin Walther

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with Cassius Winston #5 in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with Cassius Winston #5 in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 28: Kipper Nichols #2 of the Illinois Fighting Illini reacts in the second half against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on February 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 28: Kipper Nichols #2 of the Illinois Fighting Illini reacts in the second half against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on February 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

7) Illinois Fighting Illini

I’d really like to rank Illinois a little higher, but I can’t do that to a team that only won 12 overall games this past season. The Illini did win seven games, putting them in a three-way tie for 10th, but they reentered Big Ten play with just five wins. Brad Underwood appeared to be in a really bad spot in just his second year at Illinois. It was going to be a little more challenging than He thought.

Illinois picked up its first two wins over Minnesota and Maryland. Then they went on a four-game winning streak. At one point, Illinois was just one of three or four teams in the Big Ten on a multi-game winning streak. They beat Nebraska, Michigan State and Rutgers at home and Ohio State on the road. Illinois did lose five out of their last six regular season games, but managed to knock off in-state rival Northwestern for a Big Ten Tournament win.

They received the best news possible last week though. Top-50 recruit and future first round draft pick Ayo Dosunmu will be returning for his sophomore season. He took the pressure off Trent Frazier of running the point this past season. Frazier is a better shooter than passer and that proved to be the case. Dosunmu averaged 3.3 assists while Frazier knocked down 80 three-pointers.

The third piece to the possible big-three is big-man Giorgi Bezhanishvili. He was a freshman from Rustavi, Georgia, standing at six-foot-nine, 235 pounds. Giorgi played and started in all 33 games this past season. He scored 20 or more points in four conference games and dropped 22 against Notre Dame. The rebounding just over five per game, but it’ll come as he adjusts to playing college basketball.

The Illini are losing a very nice outside shooter in Aaron Jordan. The only three guys to make over 15 three-pointers last season was Jordan, Frazier and Dosunmu. Hopefully Kipper Nichols can re-find his way. He averaged 10 points per game in his sophomore season with 31 three-pointers. Last year, he played more games, but the numbers got cut in half.

The only other scholarship player leaving is Adonis De La Rosa who was a bottom tier rotation guy. Illinois has another top-50 recruit coming in, six-foot-10, 290-pound center Kofi Cockburn. That’ll give Giorgi some help in the front court and Illinois could be flirting with the bubble next year.

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