Illini fans pumped to watch highly ranked team

CHAMPAIGN -- Illini fans have another reason to be excited about their basketball team's hot start.

It's the first time they've been able to watch a top ten team at home since March 2006.

Illinois jumped from 13th to 10th yesterday in the national rankings.

The team wasn't even ranked when the season started. Fans say they love the attention. But some say it's too early to get excited.

"It's nice to have Illinois basketball seem relevant again. I've seen tons of stuff on ESPN, on the website.  It's just nice to have that exposure.  I really think that will help coach Groce with his recruiting," said fan Andrew Nevill.

"I'm not too worried about necessarily staying in the top ten all year. It's a first year under a new coach, some younger kids. So hopefully we can stay competitive and get to the tournament again," said fan Ryan Dubnicek.

Fans also say you can't gauge the team until Big Ten play starts. That's not until next month.