CHAMPAIGN — When the preseason Top 25 polls were released, and Illinois was nowhere to be found, the coaching staff clipped them out for future reference.

"Yeah, we've talked about it a little bit," Bruce Weber said.

Illinois opens the regular season tonight against Loyola at the Assembly Hall (8 p.m., no TV). The Illini haven't entered a season with this many unknowns — or this little buzz on the national scene — in more than a decade.

The various projections, rankings and polls are part of the reason.

ESPN.com bracketologist Joe Lunardi predicted Illinois would earn a No. 12 seed in the NCAA tournament — squarely on the bubble on Selection Sunday. CBSSports.com bracketologist Jerry Palm had seven Big Ten teams in his initial bracket. But not Illinois.

Sports Illustrated predicted Illinois would finish ninth in the Big Ten — behind Nebraska.

That tickled.

Sporting News echoed the ninth-place finish — this time behind Indiana — and did not include Illinois among its top 50 teams nationally.

That stung.

But wait, there's more.

— A survey of Big Ten beat writers predicted a sixth-place finish for Illinois.

— Fox Sports put the Illini eighth in the Big Ten.

— Ken Pomeroy's statistical analysis pegged Illinois at No. 57 overall and 7-11 in the Big Ten.

The lists go on, but you get the point.

And that's not to say there is any truth to those predictions. But they paint a grim picture — and testify to the national perception of Illinois — as to what is expected of these Illini.

If there were two preseason rankings that hit home, however, it was the two that garner the most attention.

Neither the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll (Illinois didn't receive a vote) nor The Associated Press Top 25 (Illinois got two points, unofficially good for No. 45) listed the Illini.

Weber cut out the polls and showed the players.

"We've been anywhere from fourth to ninth and in between (in the Big Ten)," Weber said Thursday.

So why is the head coach as confident and chipper as he's been in several years?

"He likes us. You can tell," freshman Myke Henry said with a smile. "He likes how we play."

***

There are several reasons Illinois isn't feeling the love as it enters a new era. The Illini haven't finished a season ranked in the AP Top 25 since 2006, for one.

So why, seeing that Illinois lost four starters from a disappointing team, would voters figure this season would be any different?

Prognosticators also are naturally inclined to lean on names they recognize. So far, Illinois has a roster without a star.

"I think we just have so many unknowns," Weber said of the lack of preseason banter. "The other teams all have one standout. They have a lot of unknowns — maybe more unknowns than us — but it seems they have someone to hang your hat on."

Think Ohio State, you get Jared Sullinger. Wisconsin, Jordan Taylor. Michigan, Tim Hardaway Jr. Michigan State is Michigan State. Even teams like Minnesota (Trevor Mbakwe) and Northwestern (John Shurna) have someone to carry an ESPN promo.

CBS Sports ranked the top 100 players in the game, and No. 95 Brandon Paul was the only Illini.

"I haven't looked at any of the rankings," Paul said Thursday. "I don't really care too much about those things. It doesn't matter."

Ah, and there lies the beauty of these Illini. Could it be their youth — naivete? — is a curse and a blessing? These guys don't seem to understand they're not supposed to be good.

"I have not looked at the rankings one time this year. Not one time," freshman Tracy Abrams said. "I couldn't tell you what they are. I don't really care."

"All the rankings stuff, it doesn't mean anything to us," freshman Mike Shaw said.

Recent Illinois teams were ESPN-aholics. They were keen to the happenings around college basketball, able to tell you where Syracuse or North Carolina was ranked, who was playing zone or man-to-man and who were most likely to earn All-America status at season's end.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just who they were.

These Illini, on the other hand, would be terrible sports-talk hosts. All that seems to matter to them is what goes on in their own gym. They toil in a bubble.

"A lot of them, for the most part, they weren't top-10 (recruits). There were between 25-75 guys," Weber said. "That's probably the best thing about them, their attitude and their hungriness to be successful."

The coach added, "Nnanna (Egwu) doesn't even know he's good. And it's a good thing."

Whether it's simple naivete or a cutthroat attitude, these Illini don't pay mind to the jersey across from them.

On the club circuit, Sam Maniscalco would request the defensive assignment on fellow Class of 2007 alum Derrick Rose. During a pickup game in June, Abrams said he would defend Paul, the Illini's best perimeter scorer. On a tour of Italy, Egwu got into a scuffle with an older and bigger opponent from the New Zealand national team.

"I think they're young. Those guys had a little more savvy, or they were worried about those things," Weber said. "Half the team is 19 years old or less. It's a little different. And Sammy's just trying to survive (as he nurses an ankle injury). And the other guys, they haven't proven anything. Their world's a little different than those guys last year."

Yes, there has been an upgrade in athleticism and, probably over time, talent. But it's their rugged attitude and nasty streak that gives these Illini a chance to be better than they're being projected.

"There's just one objective: win," Abrams said. "That gets me through every practice and every game. That's the only thing we care about: winning."

***

As Weber introduced the only member of the Illini's 2012 recruiting class, he described Crete-Monee point guard Michael Orris with one phrase that stood out.

"He has the kind of attitude you want in your program," the coach said.

It's the same kind of attitude Weber's staff stockpiled in the 2011 recruiting class. It isn't their talent, which is unproven, that has re-energized practice sessions. It's an attitude that has given the head coach reason to smile in the face of low expectations from the outside.

"I love their competitive spirit, their intensity," Weber said. "And their work ethic so far has been pretty good."

"It's their attitude. They're just dogs," said assistant coach Jerrance Howard, the lead assistant on all seven of the newcomers. "You don't have to coach them to play hard. That's just the way they're wired. You look at Tracy, when he walks on the court he's coming after you. We knew that when we got him early."

There remain questions about this Illini team and others going forward. Will there be enough ball handlers? Will they shoot well enough in a jump-shooting offense? Can gifted center Meyers Leonard maintain the overwhelming play he's shown recently in practice?

Attitude and a daily work ethic, however, aren't concerns. In that way this group may prove to be more consistent than others in recent seasons because there will be consistent effort.

Then the rankings would turn in their favor.

"I think you put it in the back of your mind. But you focus on what those magazines say at the end of the season," Maniscalco said. "The preseason is the preseason. There's no set rankings based on performance. It's based on last season and prediction."