Illinois jumps to No. 6 in latest AP poll Share this story Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports Before the season, once Ayo and Kofi announced they would return to Champaign for another season, all had expectations of how good this Illinois team could be. And then, they lost to Baylor. And Mizzou. And Rutgers. And then back-to-back at home to Ohio State and Maryland. And, understandably, I think some of us had our doubts. But now? There’s really no doubt. After rattling off their fourth Big Ten win in a row, this time over a ranked Wisconsin team on Saturday by a comfortable 15 points, Illinois is back in the top-10 in the AP Top 25 poll. In Monday’s new rankings, the Illini are No. 6. Three of the top six teams are from the Big Ten, with Michigan at No. 3 and Ohio State at No. 4. No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 2 Baylor hold their spots at the top, while Villanova rounds out the top 5 before the Illini.