19. Illinois (8-3)
When this Illinois team is playing their best basketball, Brad Underwood knows that his team can hang with basically anyone in the nation. They looked the part in impressive wins over Tennessee and Texas Tech. However, the Fighting Illini are fall from infallible and we’ve certainly seen that side of the coin more in recent weeks.
There were no games in the last seven days for Illinois, unfortunately giving us more time to reflect on their last time out. The Illini fell at home to Nebraska at the buzzer after putting together their poorest defensive effort of the season. Illinois got outdone by top-level teams in Alabama and UConn and just couldn’t get over the hump against the Cornhuskers, meaning there’s just as much bad as good.
There’s an international flavor on this roster and it’s only growing, but don’t underestimate what Kylan Boswell and freshman Keaton Wagler mean for this program, especially in the Big Ten games coming in the near future. Even before Underwood can think about that, he’ll lead his team to St. Louis for the next edition of the Braggin’ Rights Game against Missouri on Monday night.