By IlliniGuys Staff

February 2, 2026

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Illinois basketball team has reached its highest peak in the college basketball polls this season, climbing four spots to 5th in the latest Associated Press Top 25 rankings that were released this afternoon.

The Illini are on an 11-game win streak after a pair of victories last week over Washington and at previous No. 5 Nebraska on Sunday. The 76-69 win over the Huskers avenged their only Big Ten loss of the season, which was also the last time they failed to win a game. Illinois has posted two road wins over Top 5 ranked teams in the same season for the first time in program history. Illinois defeated then-4th ranked Purdue 88-80 in West Lafayette in their last road game on January 24th.

Arizona, one of two unbeatens left in Division I basketball, is the unanimous number one this week. The Wildcats collected all 59 first place votes. Michigan, on the strength of its win at then-7th ranked Michigan State Friday night, edged out UConn for the number two slot. Duke is 4th and Illinois' four-slot jump is the biggest of the week.

Gonzaga is sixth, followed by Iowa State, Houston, Nebraska, and Michigan State.

The Illini are tied with Michigan atop the Big Ten standings at 10-1, one game ahead of Michigan State and Nebraska. They will host Northwestern Wednesday night before visiting Michigan State Saturday night in a prime-time showdown on FOX, a chance to win a third consecutive road game over a Top 10 ranked opponent.

Illinois also climbed four spots in the coaches poll to number six in that Top 25. They are also 6th in the NET rankings that are used for seeding purposes in next month's NCAA tournament.