Illinois (13-5, 5-3 Big Ten) rose two spots in the AP Top 25 released on Monday, checking in at No. 17 after splitting a pair of home games against Maryland and Northwestern. Illinois has now been ranked for six consecutive weeks. Illinois checks in at No. 20 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

The Illini bounced back from an ugly loss to Maryland to cruise past Northwestern 83-74 on Sunday night at State Farm Center. Illinois led by as many as 25 points. Kylan Boswell led five Illini in double figures with 17 points.

The Illini played it second consecutive game without big man Tomislav Ivisic, who is sidelined with mononucleosis. In his absence, freshman Morez Johnson had a breakout game with 15 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks.

The Illini fell two spots this week to No. 10 in the NET rankings, the tool used to seed teams for the NCAA tournament. Illinois holds a 4-5 record against Quad 1 opponents (Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75).

Analytics site Kenpom.com ranks Illinois No. 10, second among Big Ten teams two spots below of No. 8 Purdue. Kenpom.com ranks Illinois No. 25 in offensive efficiency and No. 12 in defensive efficiency. The site projects Illinois to win its next 6 games and finish the season 21-10, 13-7 in the Big Ten.

Six Big Ten teams cracked the AP Top 25 this week, with Illinois joining Michigan State (8), Purdue (11), Oregon (15), Wisconsin (18), and Michigan (21).

Illinois now hits the road to take on Nebraska Thursday night. Tipoff at Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. CT on FS1.