After a successful trip to the Pacific Northwest that included the largest margin of victory on the road against an Associated Press Top 10 team, the Illinois men’s basketball team moved up nine spots in Monday’s Associated Press poll.

The Illini (11-3, 3-1 Big Ten) will start this week ranked 13th in the country after spending last week at No. 22.

The past week featured Illinois winning 109-77 at then-No. 9 Oregon last Thursday night and then the Illini holding on for an 81-77 win on Sunday at Washington.

Illinois carries a season-best four-game win streak into its 8 p.m. game on Wednesday against Penn State (12-3, 2-2) at State Farm Center in Champaign and will also host Southern Cal (9-5, 1-2) at 11 a.m. this Saturday in Champaign.

The Illini are now the highest-ranked Big Ten team in the poll and one of six Big Ten teams in the Top 25. Oregon (13-2, 2-2) dropped six spots to No. 15, Michigan State (12-2, 3-0) moved up two spots to No. 18, Purdue (11-4, 3-1) stayed at No. 20, UCLA (11-3, 2-1) slid seven spots to No. 22 and Michigan (11-3, 3-0) moved into the poll at No. 24.

Tennessee (14-0) remains No. 1 in the poll, with Illinois giving the Volunteers their closest game this season. Tennessee needed a buzzer-beating layup from Jordan Gainey to leave Champaign with a 66-64 win on Dec. 14 at State Farm Center. The Volunteers’ other 13 wins have come by double-digits.

Auburn (13-1) is right behind Tennessee at No. 2 in the poll, followed by No. 3 Iowa State (12-1), No. 4 Duke (12-2) and No. 5 Alabama (12-2).