Where Does Illinois Basketball Rank on Jay Bilas' Top 68 Teams List?

Did the ESPN college basketball analyst undersell the Illini in his 2024-25 Bilas Index?

ESPN's Jay Bilas speaks during ESPN's 'College GameDay' broadcast ahead of No. 4 Tennessee's basketball game against No. 10 Texas at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Kns Ut Basketball College Gameday / Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

It's just one man's opinion, as they say, but when that opinion belongs to the college basketball voice at the World Wide Leader – that being ESPN's Jay Bilas – hoops fans are going to notice.

So when last week brought the release of the Bilas Index – the list of the list of the NCAA's 68 best teams of the season as selected by the former Duke center and longtime college basketball analyst – we were curious: Where does Illinois fit in?

The quick answer is this: No. 27.

And at first glance, that sounds about right. Consider that the Illini (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten) landed just outside the 2024-25 preseason AP Top 25 poll – ranked at No. 26, unofficially. That's a widely crowdsourced projection. Also keep in mind that Bilas released his rankings last Thursday, before Illinois thumped SIU-Edwardsville, before Rutgers (No. 25 on Bilas' list) fell to St. John's and before UCLA (No. 24) was cut down by New Mexico.

But still.

A preseason media poll projected Illinois to finish fourth in the Big Ten – ahead of both Rutgers and Oregon (No. 26 on Bilas' list). The Illini, even given the inevitable chemistry questions, welcomed a fantastic freshman class and several impact transfers to Champaign in the offseason. Given that level of talent, the program's recent pedigree and Illinois' upward-tacking momentum under coach Brad Underwood, any ranking outside the top 25 seems a bit of a surprise. Admittedly, after two dominant and dazzling games, anything else seems almost ludicrous.

Raised banners ✅
Handed out rings ✅#Illini | #HTTO | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/GGErQ5FIid

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) November 9, 2024

A few notes in Bilas' defense:

• The Big Ten is a mystery this year. Trying to split hairs between Rutgers and UCLA (bolstered by big-time recruits), an up-and-coming team such as the Ducks and this Illini group is a fool's errand – but that's the gig.
• No one can be a guru who has profound insight into all 352 Division I basketball teams, or even just the Power 5 biggies and random outliers like Boise State, St. Mary's and Utah State. We've all gotta sleep.
• This stuff is hard. Everyone gets something (and most get just about everything) wrong in the end. Even the experts can't predict injuries, in-season development or the magic of March.

In any case, it'll be interesting to see how the first AP poll of the 2024-25 regular season shakes out when it's revealed sometime Monday morning/afternoon. Bold prediction: Illinois will sneak in.

Just remember that it's not where you start that counts but where you finish.

More From Illinois on Sports Illustrated:

Rise to the Tide: Key Areas Illinois Must Fix Before Alabama Showdown

How Center Tomislav Can Weaponize Illinois' Offense

Illinois Basketball Grades: Analysis of Game 2 vs. SIU-Edwardsville