Several months ago, back when prognosticators were considering Illinois’ place both in the Big Ten pecking order and on the national scene, the Illini still had that new-roster smell. Expectations initially seemed impossible to define. Since then, even coach Brad Underwood has often admitted that he didn’t always know what he had on his hands.

But even as Illinois (10-3, 2-1 Big Ten) was learning more about itself and pollsters were cool toward the Illini during their hit-or-miss run in proving-ground games, the data-based NCAA NET rankings were comparatively higher. And now, after Thursday’s signature win – a 109-77 blowout of Oregon in Eugene – the objective numbers have never been higher on the Illini.

On Friday, Illinois moved up five spots in the NET rankings – more than any other team in its top 25 – into the No. 5 slot. Among others, the Illini leapt Alabama, which outran them to a 100-87 win in the early season, as well as two-loss Marquette and one-loss Iowa State.

Illinois’ 32-point win at Matthew Knight Arena, which set a new NCAA record for the largest margin of victory for a visiting team against an AP top-10 opponent, sent the Ducks spiraling to 12 spots, to No. 23 in the NET rankings.

Plenty of basketball remains to be played, but the Illini’s standing in the NET rankings currently positions them to compete for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament (whose selection committee uses NET as its primary evaluation tool).

Another road game looms for Illinois on its first-ever Big Ten West Coast trip – against Washington in Seattle on Sunday (3 p.m. CT, on Big Ten Network) – before the Illini return to Champaign for a two-game home stand against Penn State and USC.

Top 25 NET rankings (as of Friday, Jan. 3)

25. Cincinnati
24. Utah State
23. Oregon
22. Arizona
21. Ohio State
20. Texas A&M
19. Kansas
18. Mississippi State
17. Maryland
16. Baylor
15. UCLA
14. Kentucky
13. Pittsburgh
12. UConn
11. Michigan
10. Alabama
9. Marquette
8. Gonzaga
7. Iowa State
6. Houston
5. Illinois
4. Florida
3. Duke
2. Tennessee
1. Auburn

Illinois Basketball Report Card: Grades at Oregon (Game 13)

3 Key Numbers from Illinois Basketball’s Win Over Oregon

3 Big Takeaways From Illinois Basketball’s Win Over Oregon