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Illinois basketball has had a no good, terrible, very bad decade. The Fighting Illini are on their third head coach in the ongoing time frame, and even worse, their NIT bids (3) outnumber NCAA Tournament appearances (2).
But you know what? In spite of those depressing facts, Illinois remains one of the top basketball schools in the nation, largely due to an impressive history in Champaign. In fact, the Associated Press recently published their Top-100 programs of all-time, and the Fighting Illini were included along with some eye-opening company.
Illinois checked in at No. 11 overall after appearing in 38.86% of polls since January 1949. The only Big Ten team to be ranked higher is — you guessed it — Indiana (No. 6).
Illinois’ best full decade was the 1950’s, when the team appeared in a whopping 69.93% of polls. That may be difficult for younger fans to comprehend, so for comparison, the Orange and Blue had a rate of 65.79% throughout the 2000’s.
Here are the Top 25 teams, along with a closer look at programs from the Big Ten.
AP All-Time Top 25 Basketball Rankings
RANK | PROGRAM | CONFERENCE | POINTS |
---|---|---|---|
RANK | PROGRAM | CONFERENCE | POINTS |
1 | Kentucky | SEC | 1,111 |
2 | North Carolina | ACC | 1,098 |
3 | Duke | ACC | 1,032 |
4 | UCLA | Pac-12 | 957 |
5 | Kansas | Big 12 | 857 |
6 | Indiana | Big Ten | 662 |
7 | Louisville | ACC | 627 |
8 | Arizona | Pac-12 | 594 |
9 | Syracuse | ACC | 581 |
10 | Cincinnati | AAC | 500 |
11 | Illinois | Big Ten | 479 |
12 | Ohio State | Big Ten | 453 |
13 | Michigan State | Big Ten | 434 |
14 | Michigan | Big Ten | 423 |
15 | Georgetown | Big East | 421 |
16 | Connecticut | AAC | 402 |
17 | Maryland | Big Ten | 400 |
18 | Notre Dame | ACC | 382 |
19 | Villanova | Big East | 372 |
20 | Oklahoma | Big 12 | 371 |
T-21 | Marquette | Big East | 366 |
T-21 | North Carolina State | ACC | 366 |
23 | Iowa | Big Ten | 343 |
24 | Purdue | Big Ten | 339 |
25 | UNLV | Mountain West | 321 |
AP All-Time Top 100: Big Ten Rankings
BIG TEN RANK | PROGRAM | OVERALL RANK | POINTS |
---|---|---|---|
BIG TEN RANK | PROGRAM | OVERALL RANK | POINTS |
1 | Indiana | 6 | 662 |
2 | Illinois | 11 | 479 |
3 | Ohio State | 12 | 453 |
4 | Michigan State | 13 | 434 |
5 | Michigan | 14 | 423 |
6 | Maryland | 17 | 400 |
7 | Iowa | 23 | 343 |
8 | Purdue | 24 | 339 |
9 | Wisconsin | 37 | 250 |
10 | Minnesota | 43 | 226 |
T-11 | Nebraska | N/A | N/A |
T-11 | Northwestern | N/A | N/A |
T-11 | Penn State | N/A | N/A |
T-11 | Rutgers | N/A | N/A |
So, yeah, make sure to bookmark this link for future reference. It could come in handy for the next time delusional fans from places like Virginia (No. 32) and Oklahoma State (No. 34) start making false claims online.