Nov 26, 2020; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Trent Frazier (1) celebrates after his teammates score during the second half against the Chicago State Cougars at the State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
Illinois basketball has started the 2020-21 campaign as one of the darlings of the college basketball world.
A pick by many to go deep into the postseason, the Illini received even more notoriety when the Associated Press named the Orange and Blue the No. 8 team in the country in their preseason top 25.
The highest preseason ranking since the 2004-05 national title run, Illinois looked to have earned the top 10 status during their first two games of the season.