3 ranked college basketball teams on upset alert this week, Nov. 27-Dec. 3

No. 24 Illinois (At Rutgers 12/2)

While Purdue has established itself as the class of the Big Ten, there is a clear opening for the second-best team thanks to some early struggles from Michigan State. Illinois has made its case for that mantle with a 5-1 start that saw the lone loss come at home against Marquette, which is now No. 3 in the country, and the Fighting Illini played very well in that game.

Apart from the Golden Eagles, however, Illinois really hasn't been challenged in non-conference play. Four blowouts and a nine-point win over Oakland aren't doing much to get Illinois ready for the rigors of Big Ten play, which begins for the Fighting Illini this week as they travel to East Piscataway to take on Rutgers.

Many wrote off the Scarlet Knights after their Opening Night loss to Princeton but that defeat looks better with the Tigers off to a perfect 6-0 start of their own. Rutgers has a balanced attack that has four different players averaging at least 10 points per game and they are incredibly tough to beat at Jersey Mike's Arena, where they have pulled a ton of big upsets under head coach Steve Pikiell.

That combination of ingredients is a bad one for Illinois, which may not be ready for its first true road game of the season to come against a team ready to pull a big shocker to jump start their Big Ten slate. Rutgers will be ready to play on Saturday and if the Fighting Illini can't match their intensity they will find themselves outside the Top 25 next week by becoming the latest victims of Jersey Mike's Arena's upset voodoo.