While Southern Illinois and Northern Illinois are surging, other Division I teams in the state are spiraling.
DePaul and Western Illinois have dropped six straight, Northwestern is on a seven-game skid and Chicago State is in a 15-game free fall.
Here’s how the state’s teams stack up in this week’s power rankings, with records through Monday and last week’s ranking in parentheses.
Illinois 16-7, 8-4 Big Ten (1)
Michigan State defeated Illinois by 20 on Jan. 2 in East Lansing, Mich. The Illini — who fell two spots to No. 22 in Monday’s Associated Press poll — get a chance at payback Tuesday night when the Spartans visit the State Farm Center. Michigan State dropped out of the AP poll Monday after a third straight loss.
Southern Illinois 15-10, 9-3 Missouri Valley (2)
First-year coach Bryan Mullins looks like a strong candidate for conference coach of the year. The Salukis are one game out of first place and riding a seven-game winning streak.
Loyola 16-9, 8-4 Missouri Valley (3)
The Ramblers pulled out a narrow victory against Valparaiso on Sunday despite making only 9 of 21 free throws. They’re shooting 66.8% from the line.
Northern Illinois 15-9, 8-3 Mid-American (5)
The Huskies know how to win close ones. They’ve won four games by fewer than five points during their six-game winning streak.
Bradley 16-9, 7-5 Missouri Valley (4)
Senior guard Darrell Brown averaged 23 points in two games last week.
UIC 12-14, 7-6 Horizon (6)
The Flames have won three of four and six of eight.
DePaul 13-11, 1-10 Big East (7)
The Blue Demons are back in familiar territory: last place in the conference.
Northwestern 6-16, 1-11 Big Ten (8)
Northwestern is the new Rutgers? Even with an 18-point lead, the Wildcats struggled in the second half and lost in overtime Sunday.
Illinois State 8-16, 3-9 Missouri Valley (9)
The Redbirds were 14-10 overall and 7-4 in the conference at this point last season.
Eastern Illinois 12-12, 5-7 Ohio Valley (10)
The Panthers are 3-10 on the road.
SIU-Edwardsville 6-19, 3-9 Ohio Valley (11)
Shamar Wright could be a spark. The freshman forward scored a season-high 20 points to help the Cougars snap a four-game skid with a victory against Eastern Kentucky.
Western Illinois 5-16, 2-9 Summit (12)
The Leathernecks have failed to score 70 points in three straight games.
Chicago State 4-21, 0-10 Western Athletic (13)
The Cougars play five of their final six games on the road.
