Illinois men’s basketball will begin the 2026-27 season ranked No. 3 in the country, matching the program’s second-highest preseason ranking in the Associated Press Top 25.
The preseason poll was released Monday, with the Illini trailing only Florida and Duke. Illinois received two first-place votes, joining the Gators and Blue Devils as the only teams to receive votes for the top spot.
The No. 3 ranking matches Illinois’ preseason position ahead of the 2001-02 season. The program’s highest preseason ranking came in 1984-85, when the Illini opened at No. 2.
Brad Underwood’s squad enters the season with high expectations after reaching the Final Four last season. Illinois finished 28-9 and returns five rotation players from that team, including David Mirkovic, Andrej Stojakovic and Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic. The Illini also added Providence transfer Stefan Vaaks and a six-player freshman class.
Illinois is one of five Big Ten teams ranked in the preseason poll. Michigan State comes in at No. 6, followed by defending national champion Michigan at No. 16, USC at No. 21 and UCLA at No. 22.
The Illini will face three other preseason top-20 teams during non-conference play: No. 2 Duke, No. 4 UConn and No. 19 Texas Tech.
Illinois will host Baylor in an exhibition game Friday at the State Farm Center before opening the regular season Nov. 2 against Fairleigh Dickinson.