Notes and opinions from the past week:

--Illinois received six points in the latest AP Top 25 poll. If you're a little curious about where they came from (it wasn't me; my poll is here and shows up on IlliniHQ every Monday and in The News-Gazette every Tuesday ), you can thank Stu Durando of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who placed the Illini 25th on his ballot (good for one point) and Paul Zeise of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who put Illinois 21st (for five points). For a complete breakdown of every ballot and every team, go to pollspeak.com. Neither voter had Temple ahead of Illinois, which seems a bit odd considering that the Owls (5-1) have a win against Illinois.

If the Illini crack the Top 25 this season, it will be the first time since Nov. 27, 2000 -- when the stars of the team were Allison Curtin, Iveta Marcauskaite and Anne O'Neil -- that they've earned that acclaim. For the perennial powers, being ranked in the polls is entirely meaningless. But that's not the case for Illinois, which could certainly use a boost in national recognition.

To get there, the Illini might have to knock off a big-name school. A win against No. 3 Ohio State in the Big Ten opener Dec. 28 at the Assembly Hall would do the trick, assuming Illinois doesn't lose before then. Otherwise, the UI's weak schedule -- it is ranked 131st by collegerpi.com -- will hold the Illini back.

--You're a hardy Illini fan if you remember the last time Illinois began a season 7-1 (or better), which is what the Illini will do if they beat Wake Forest on Wednesday in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The last time the UI started at least 7-1 was 1981, when it began 10-0 en route to a 21-9 season.

--Caught some of Bolingbrook's game at Saturday's Blue Star Country Classic Showcase at Parkland. The Raiders are pretty special. Four seniors have signed to play Division I ball -- Marissa Taylor (Indiana), Chenyare Hosey (Murray State), Mercedes Griffin (Marquette) and Nicosia Henry (Seton Hall) -- but the best players aren't yet seniors. There's guard Ariel Massengale, ranked sixth in the nation's junior class by Blue Star; reigning Ms. Basketball Morgan Tuck, ranked third in the sophomore class; and Tuck's sister Taylor, ranked 152nd in the junior class. Both Tucks and Massengale have had UI scholarship offers since last year.

Massengale, a member of the U.S. U16 team that won a gold medal at the FIBA Americas U16 Championships, looked much better than when I saw her as a sophomore last season at Parkland. She's listed at 5-7, but if she's 5-7, I'm 6-11. Seems generous to me, but Massengale has the quickness to make up for it. Morgan Tuck has just returned from an ACL injury and was wearing a brace on the knee, but seemed to have OK mobility given her quick return.

Bolingbrook is 1 of 9 teams that have committed to take part in the 2010 Showcase.

--A quick look, and some predictions, for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, which begins with three games on Wednesday:

Georgia Tech at Penn State: Nittany Lions usually are much better at home. The Yellow Jackets are very athletic, but we'll give PSU a slight nod because of the home court.

Illinois at Wake Forest: A tossup. I picked Wake in my preview, but this is a tough call. Again, the homecourt makes the difference. If it was in Champaign, I'd pick Illinois.

Boston College at Iowa (Big Ten Network): The Hawkeyes have been ravaged by injuries and have a terribly young team. BC has one of the nation's best, albeit largely anonymous, post players in Carolyn Swords. I'll take BC.

THURSDAY:

Florida State at Indiana (BTN): The Hoosiers are struggling. 'Noles, easy.

Minnesota at Maryland: Lori Bjork and the Terps are young and trying to find their way, but they'll beat Goldy.

Ohio State at Duke: Great matchup. A true test for the Buckeyes, who must prove they're worthy of that No. 3 ranking. If they beat the Dukies, I'll be a believer. Until then ... gimme Duke.

Wisconsin at North Carolina State: The Wolfpack, under first-year coach Kellie Harper, played a competitive game against No. 21 Vanderbilt. I'll take the home team.

Purdue at Virginia: The Boilermakers have lost to Dayton (ouch), Georgetown (double ouch) and Pepperdine (call the coroner). Wahoos roll.

Michigan at Virginia Tech: Hard to tell which Michigan team will show up, but I'll take the Wolverines in a tossup.

Clemson at Northwestern: Don't look now, but the Wildcats are making progress by leaps and bounds. They won three Big Ten games last season, and they'll at least double that total this time around. Cats win.

North Carolina at Michigan State (BTN): Carolina's fullcourt pressure might be too much for the Spartans to handle. I'll take UNC ... just barely.

By my count, that's 8-3 ACC. We'll see how close I come.

--In an unusual move Tuesday, the Big Ten issued a public reprimand of Iowa's Gabby Machado, for violating the league's "Conduct Agreement." Per NCAA rules, Machado will be suspended for Iowa's next game after participating in a fight against Columbia last weekend.

--Illinois' Dec. 31 game at the Assembly Hall against Penn State has a new starting time: 3 p.m. The game will be televised by the Big Ten Network.