In their fourth season under head coach Brad Underwood, many are projecting the Illinois Fighting Illini to compete for a Big Ten Championship in 2020-21.

Off to a 3-0 start and ranked No. 5 in the November 30 Associated Press Poll, the Illini have taken care of business thus far.

Speaking with the media on Tuesday, junior point guard Ayo Dosunmu, a first-team All-Conference selection in 2019-20, offered a glimpse of the team’s confidence level.

Graduating from Morgan Park High School in Chicago, Dosunmu, listed at 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds, was a Big Ten All-Freshman Team honoree in 2018-19, as well.

Opening their season with back-to-back blowout victories over the North Carolina A&T Aggies and Chicago State Cougars, Illinois survived a scare against the Mid-American Conference’s (MAC) Ohio Bobcats on November 27, winning by just two points, 77-75.

The Illini can soon prove Dosunmu’s claim correct, as the schedule picks up considerably. Participating in the Jimmy Valvano Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Underwood’s team will battle the No. 2 Baylor Bears at 10 p.m. ET on Wednesday on ESPN.

This is followed by a date with the No. 6 Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)/Big Ten Challenge on Tuesday, December 8 at 9:30 p.m. ET, also on ESPN.

Illinois’ last Big Ten title came in 2004-05, when they advanced all the way to the NCAA Tournament Championship Game, falling to Roy Williams’ North Carolina Tar Heels.