The dust hasn’t even settled yet following Michigan’s 69-63 win against UConn in the national championship game, and already there are way too early think pieces about next season. It’s impossible to ascertain what teams will look like next year considering the transfer portal barely opened. But in one ridiculously early poll, the Illinois Fighting Illini took the top ranking above the national champions.
Illinois came in as the No. 1 team in the country via CJ Moore in The Athletic’s early rankings for the 2026-27 season. There is reason to be excited about Illinois next season considering they are coming off a Final Four appearance.
Moore’s reasoning for the Fighting Illini to secure the top spot is the fact that they likely will have the majority of their roster back next year. Their only major loss is projected to be freshman guard Keaton Wagler who is expected to be a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
Wagler exploded on the scene this year, starting all 37 games he played in at a little over 33 minutes per game. He averaged 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists with splits of 44.5 percent shooting from the field, 39.7 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 79.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Illinois and head coach Brad Underwood will likely go the transfer portal route to find a replacement at point guard for Wagler. But other than that, most of the key players of Illinois’ Final Four roster should be back, including Andrej Stojakovic, David Mirkovic and the Ivisic twins, Zvonimir and Tomislav.
The dust hasn’t even settled yet following Michigan’s 69-63 win against UConn in the national championship game, and already there are way too early think pieces about next season. It’s impossible to ascertain what teams will look like next year considering the transfer portal barely opened.