Illinois down to No. 20 in AP poll entering regular season’s final week

The AP Top 25 definitely shouldn’t matter to Illinois fans this week with so much on the line for a conference title and Big Ten Tournament seeding.

But as we do every Monday at 11 a.m., here’s the latest update from the new poll!

After splitting a pair of games last week with Ohio State and Michigan, Illinois dropped to No. 20 in the AP rankings. This solidifies that every week of the regular season in 2022 the Illini held a spot in the Top 25 — pretty impressive stuff for what’s considered the most competitive conference in the land.

Last week was a historic week in the polls. On Saturday, each of the top six teams lost, and seven of the top 10 overall. That had never happened before on the same day! NEVER!

Anywho, with Selection Sunday less than two weeks away, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Illinois as a 4-seed in his latest Bracketology (from Friday). That would include a Round of 64 matchup with UT-Chatt, and a possible rematch with Arizona in the Elite Eight.

Happy March!