Expert Places Illinois Basketball in Tier 1 of College Basketball

College basketball is right around the corner, and preseason rankings are starting to surface. Analytical guru Evan Miyakawa previewed his rankings on his podcast and will release his full predictions on his website on Friday. His website is known as one of the best analytical resources in the sport.

Illinois is ranked No. 3 in Evan’s preseason rankings and is considered by him to be a Tier One team. Florida and Duke are slightly ahead of Illinois, but all three teams are firmly in the first tier, according to Evan.

“Duke and Florida are really neck and neck here. And Illinois is a little bit behind them, but they are still comfortably ahead of the rest of the teams in this top 10,” said Evan Miyakawa.

The 2025 NCAA champion Florida Gators are projected to be the best team in the sport with a rating of 31.5, followed by Duke at 31.1 and Illinois at 30. The Illini are expected to have the top offense in the country, while their defense ranks eighth in Evan’s rankings. Florida and Duke rank first and second in defense, while ranking second and third in offense.

All three teams were among the top teams in the nation last season and did a great job of keeping talent within their programs. Florida was a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament but lost to Iowa in the Round of 32, while Duke lost in the Elite Eight and Illinois fell in the Final Four to UConn.

“All three of these teams did a great job of roster retention and getting key pieces here, especially in the cases of Florida and Illinois, who returned pretty much everything that they’re possibly able to get,” Miyakawa added.

Evan is very bullish on the Illini this season for many of the same reasons as college basketball fans. They bring back 57.3% of their minutes from last year’s Final Four team and have multiple future pros on the roster. In terms of talent, Illinois is ranked second nationally behind only Duke on Evan’s site.

Jim Root of Three Man Weave joined Evan on the show and is less bullish on the Illini. He has Illinois ranked fourth behind UConn in his personal rankings, largely because Brad Underwood has yet to beat Dan Hurley. The Illini have not beaten Hurley and UConn over the past few seasons, so it is understandable to have a hard time placing Illinois ahead of the Huskies until that happens.

Illinois will face UConn in Chicago on December 4 and could finally break its losing streak against the Huskies. Evan has UConn ranked as the fifth-best team in the country with a 25.2 rating. That means, as of now, Illinois would be favored against UConn when the two teams meet inside the United Center.

It will not be an easy task as UConn’s talent is ranked fourth nationally, and the Huskies have one of the most accomplished coaches in the sport.

There is a noticeable gap between Illinois and the fourth-ranked team, Arizona. Illinois’ relative rating on Evan’s site is 3.9 points higher than Arizona’s, and the gap is even larger between Illinois and Gonzaga, UConn and Houston.

Arizona, UConn and Houston are all projected to have better defenses than Illinois, but the Illini should have an elite offense once again.

Evan is one of the best follows in college basketball, and his analytical work is as trustworthy as ever. Preseason rankings are never going to be completely accurate, but his analytical site is one of the best resources in the sport.

We will know early in the season if Illinois can live up to its preseason hype, as the Illini will face Duke in November and UConn in December.