It’s never too early for some preseason rankings, right?
With the Illinois football team appearing in the AP top ten for the first time since 2001 this week, why not take a look at where various media members project the Illinois basketball team for the 2025-26 season?
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Jeff Borzello: 16th
Jeff Borzello of ESPN is pretty high on the international Illini.
16th nationally puts the Illini at 4th in the Big Ten, behind Purdue (1st), Michigan (8th), and UCLA (15th).
Borzello projects a starting lineup of Mihailo Petrovic, Kylan Boswell, Andrej Stojakovic, Zvonimir Ivisic, and Tomislav Ivisic.
Gary Parrish: 24th
Gary Parrish of CBS Sports’ “Top 25 and 1” lists Illinois as the 24th-best team in the country ahead of the upcoming season.
Parrish believes Illinois is more of a middle of the pack Big Ten squad, ranking Michigan State and Oregon ahead of the Illini in addition to Purdue, Michigan, and UCLA.
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Isaac Trotter of CBS Sports thinks Ben Humrichous will earn the starting role in the frontcourt instead of Zvonimir Ivisic, which I agree with.
Jon Rothstein: 22nd
Illinois comes in at No. 22 in the “Rothstein 45”.
Rothstein is incredibly high on the Big Ten this year, as he ranks Purdue at #1, Michigan at #5, and UCLA at #7. He also has SEVEN Big Ten squads ranked between #20 and #30.
Bart Torvik: 7th
Bart Torvik’s metrics projections are higher than any media member on Brad Underwood’s Balkans.
Torvik rates Illinois as the 9th best offense and 11th best defense in the nation, good enough for 7th overall.
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Only Houston, Duke, Michigan, Purdue, Florida, and BYU grade out higher than the Illini. That’s some pretty good company.
Andy Katz: 5th (Big Ten)
Big Ten Network’s Andy Katz ranks Illinois as the 5th-best team in the Big Ten.
Purdue, Michigan, Oregon, and UCLA are ranked above Illinois.
The media seems to be fairly aligned regarding Illinois’ preseason status. They’re a consensus top 25 team with the potential to rise higher if the numerous offseason additions work out.
It will be very interesting to see how Illinois is viewed by the metrics as sites like KenPom and EvanMiya update their preseason projections.
