NCAA Basketball: Gonzaga, Houston lead in updated way-too-early top 25 ranking
By Joey Loose
23. Illinois
Suffice to say, these last couple of seasons have been outstanding for Illinois, a program that was really struggling to compete in the Big Ten over the last decade. Brad Underwood’s team secured a 1-seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament and nearly won another Big Ten title last season. Things are absolutely trending upwards in Champaign, but this season is going to look shockingly different on the court.
Star center Kofi Cockburn is off to the NBA Draft, senior leader Trent Frazier has graduated, and important pieces like Andre Curbelo (St. John’s) and Alfonso Plummer (no more eligibility) aren’t walking through those doors next season. Instead, Underwood reloaded this roster with impressive talent, including a pair of Big 12 transfers in Terrence Shannon Jr. from Texas Tech and former national champion Matthew Mayer of Baylor. A talented crew of young players, highlighted by freshman phenom Skyy Clark, will hope to meld with junior forward Coleman Hawkins, who shined at times on last season’s team.
There are a lot of unknowns in college basketball, especially this time of year, but we know that there’s talent on this roster. Without that dominant Cockburn-type of player, how will the Illini fare, especially in a Big Ten that remains tough from top to bottom? It’s easy to look at what they’ve added and figure that this team can compete for another conference crown, but this is a lot of moving pieces. It’ll be exciting to see how it all works out and there’s certainly reason for buzz down in Champaign once more.