Note: Loyola Chicago, DePaul, Northwestern, Western Illinois and Southern Illinois haven’t played their first games yet. They’ll join the rankings once their seasons start.
The first week of the 2020-21 college basketball season is in the books.
After 258 days, college hoops returned Nov. 25 with several teams participating in multi-team events. Although some schools couldn’t play due to COVID-19 protocols, here are the first Off The Inbound power rankings.
1. Illinois (3-0)
This was a no-brainer. The No. 8-ranked Illini — with Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn back in Champaign — came out firing to start the year, rolling past North Carolina A&T 122-60 and Chicago State 97-38. Although their 76-74 win over Ohio was closer than it should’ve been, it’s hard to see any other team taking the top spot to start the year.
Illinois will have two tough matchups coming up, though, taking on No. 2 Baylor Dec. 2 and No. 8 Duke Dec. 8.
2. Bradley (2-1)
Bradley was close to a perfect 3-0 weekend at the Xavier MTE, but the Braves still turned in a good showing, with victories coming over Toledo (61-59) and Oakland (74-60). The newcomers were the story, though. Redshirt junior George Washington transfer Terry Nolan, Jr. hit the game-winning putback against Toledo and made the all-tournament team, and freshman Darius Hannah threw down a dunk that shook Cincinnati.
DARIUS HANNAH!!!! #justafreshman 🅱️🏀 #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/UyecuGW1Rf
— Bradley Basketball (@bradleyumbb) November 27, 2020
With senior Elijah Childs leading the way, Bradley could make noise in the Missouri Valley once again this season.
3. UIC (2-0)
Luke Yaklich’s first season in the West Loop got off to a fun start as his Flames came back from a 22-point deficit to beat Northern Illinois 65-61 at Credit Union 1 Arena Nov. 25. Coupled with a gritty 74-72 win over Central Michigan in the second game of the year, UIC — the fifth-ranked team in the Horizon League preseason poll — is off to a solid start. Yaklich was a great hire for UIC and starting the season with two hard-fought victories is a good sign for his group.
The future looks bright.
4. Eastern Illinois (0-2)
The Panthers entered their season-opening matchup with No. 7 Wisconsin as 21.5-point underdogs and lost 77-67. Despite a 75-50 loss to Marquette Nov. 27, there were enough good signs for this EIU team — which was picked to finish fifth in the Ohio Valley — to crack the top half of the rankings.
5. Northern Illinois (0-1)
The Huskies were in the driver’s seat against UIC, but blew a 22-point lead in the eventual 65-61 loss to the Flames in Chicago. NIU was picked 10th in the MAC preseason poll this year, likely due to the graduation of Eugene German, the program’s all-time leading scorer who averaged 20.5 points per game last season. It could be a down year for Mark Montgomery’s group, which has a matchup with SIUE coming up Dec. 2.
6. Illinois State (1-1)
Illinois State managed to get into the Ohio State MTE to start the year and struggled mightily, falling to a tough No. 23 Ohio State team 94-67. The Redbirds shook it off to beat UMass Lowell 82-72, despite nearly blowing a 20-point lead.
The Redbirds have a lot of question marks this year, especially after lone senior Keith Fisher III opted out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns. It’s hard to see them doing much in the MVC, and Dan Muller’s crew could be in for another rough go this season.
7. SIU-Edwardsville (0-2)
SIU-Edwardsville — which was picked 11th in the OVC preseason poll — couldn’t keep up with a tough Saint Louis team in the opener and LSU in game two. Even if (well, when) they beat NAIA St. Louis College of Pharmacy tonight, the Cougars sit toward the bottom of this week’s rankings.
8. Chicago State (0-3)
The Cougars have a tough schedule ahead, but they’ll attack it without their head coach. Associate head coach Rodell Davis will take over this season after Lance Irvin, a cancer survivor, understandably opted out of this season due to COVID-19 concerns. Chicago State started the year at the Illinois MTE and struggled, losing each game by 30+ points. It’ll likely be another long season on the South Side.