Illinois is making plenty of noise in the college basketball world this season. Two weeks ago, they entered the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since December of 2014. The Illini jumped from 24 to 21 last week followed by a #19 ranking this week.

Brad Underwood’s squad currently touts a six-game win streak dating back to January 5th. The two most recent wins came in tough environments on the road, as Illinois knocked off Purdue and Michigan this past week.

Road wins have been hard to come by across the Big Ten this season, and the Illini are receiving some national recognition for their outings over the past seven days. This morning, both Andy Katz of NCAA.com and Jay Bilas of ESPN pegged Illinois as NCAA basketball’s Team of the Week.

The #Illini are ROLLING! 🔶🔷



Illinois picked up road wins at Purdue & Michigan to earn Team of the Week from @TheAndyKatz! 👏 pic.twitter.com/nrmxZmqF9k — NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) January 27, 2020

The Bilastrator’s Team of the Week: Illinois Fighting Illini. Two big ROAD wins in the Big Ten! pic.twitter.com/SI0yCHFEjN — Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) January 27, 2020

The Illini have found their groove, proving that they are not to be taken lightly in the Big Ten. They currently hold second place with a 7-2 conference record and 15-5 overall record. The next opportunity for Illinois to improve upon those marks will come on Thursday when they host Minnesota.

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