Illinois Basketball Misses Out on AP 2024-25 Preseason Top 25 Poll

Purdue, Indiana, UCLA and Rutgers made it from the Big Ten. Did the Illini even come close to making the cut?

Mar 30, 2024; Boston, MA, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood reacts against the Connecticut Huskies in the finals of the East Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images / Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Alabama at No. 2, UConn at 3, Duke at 7, Tennessee at 12, Purdue at 14.

Last season's Elite Eight teams are featured prominently in the AP Preseason Top 25 poll, which came out Monday.

But Illinois? Nope. Nada. Maybe next time. Coming off coach Brad Underwood's best season at the school, the Illini didn't make the Top 25 cut. Still, they were the first team left on the cutting-room floor – No. 26, otherwise known as leading the group of "others receiving votes."

POLL ALERT: Kansas tops AP Top 25 preseason men's basketball poll ahead of Alabama, defending champion UConn; SEC leads way with 9 teams in poll.

Full poll: https://t.co/ZJG5mgWrsa pic.twitter.com/aAABleXK3s

— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) October 14, 2024

The Illini are 23rd in the initial KenPom ratings, for what that's worth. Not that a metrics-based formula has much to go on before any games have been played.

Underwood has said this team – stocked with NBA-level talent – has a "higher ceiling" than the last one did.

"This group, I have tremendous interest in and excitement for," he said.

The roster has been turned almost completely over, with Ty Rodgers and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn the only returners of note. Ben Humrichous and Kylan Boswell lead a rich transfer group, and Will Riley, Morez Johnson Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis headline what should be an outstanding freshman class. Jakucionis has been projected by some as a one-and-done NBA lottery pick.

The Big Ten had four teams in the Top 25: Purdue (14th), Indiana (17th), UCLA (22nd) and Rutgers (25th). Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, Wisconsin and Maryland also received votes.