Illinois made its 2024-25 debut in the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday at No. 25. Just in time for its biggest game of the season to date. This week's trip to Birmingham, Ala., to face now No. 8 Alabama will shine a bright light on exactly where this Illinois team stands in mid-November....

There was only one real surprise for Illinois in the first week of the 2024-25 college basketball season, and it had nothing to do with the results on the court. While Ty Rodgers did make the decision to redshirt, Illinois still went 2-0, still blew the doors off teams they should dominate. Just...