An undefeated record. A top-25 ranking. Narrow escapes against inferior opponents.

Sound familiar?

It should. The Illinois men’s basketball team has started the season in a fashion eerily similar to that of a season ago, racing out to a 7-0 record and a No. 22 ranking, comparable to the 10-0 record and No. 19 ranking of the 2011-12 Illini.

Last season, Illinois crashed and burned in embarrassing fashion (insert “Fast Five” reference), losing 12 of its last 14 games and missing postseason play entirely. The flames from the inferno licked at the very foundations of Illini Nation, culminating in the firing of long-tenured head coach Bruce Weber.

It remains to be seen if this season’s Illini will fall into the same pattern, but the team’s early season play gives cause for more optimism than at the same point a year ago.

For one, Illinois’ performance in the Maui Invitational was as dominant as it gets. Cynics will point out the substandard level of the competition — USC is a bottom-feeder in the Pac-12, Chaminade is Division II and Butler was essentially a one-man offense led by point guard Rotnei Clarke’s scoring 27 of the Bulldog’s 61 points. But regardless of opponent, for the Illini to win their three games by an average of more than 23 points while never trailing the entire tournament is a significant achievement. For the first time since the Chester Frazier days, Illinois’ seniors and leaders showed true maturity in maintaining the intense focus over the three-day tournament — not an insignificant accomplishment while playing at a holiday resort town.

In sharp contrast to Maui, the Illini’s other two games during Thanksgiving break were nail biters from which Illinois barely escaped with victories. Again, cynics will say the Illini should never have been in close games against the likes of Hawaii and Gardner-Webb, but given the rigorous travel schedule preceding both games, the lackluster starts experienced are understandable. More important is the resiliency Illinois displayed in coming back from a 16-point deficit at Hawaii and draining game-winning threes in both games, proving it can win in multiple ways.

With virtually the same roster as last season’s underachieving team — minus first-round draft pick Meyers Leonard — how are the Illini experiencing such success?

The answer can be found in the play of Tyler Griffey and Tracy Abrams.

Griffey has been one of Illinois’ best pure shooters since his arrival on campus four years ago, but he was unable to stay on the court during his first three seasons due to his lackluster defense and rebounding production out of the power forward position. This year, Griffey’s defense has markedly improved, and his offensive production has made him invaluable to the Illini’s offense. Griffey is shooting .538 percent from 3-point range, a truly absurd number. His long-range prowess is critical in John Groce’s ball screen-heavy offense, as it stretches the defense and provides open looks and driving lanes when the ball is rotated around the court.

Abrams, meanwhile, has shown maybe the greatest improvement of any player in the early portion of the season. The sophomore is the Illini’s best penetrator, a crucial skill among a roster made up of mostly jump shooters, and his own jump shot has improved drastically. Abrams is shooting .486 from the field and .391 from 3-point land and has already made as many threes (nine) as he made all of last season. There are still growing pains, as evidenced by his eight turnovers against USC and his scoreless performance against Gardner-Webb, but that is to be expected for a young point guard learning a new system.

The competition gets tougher from here, starting with Georgia Tech traveling to Champaign for Wednesday night’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge game. Illinois still has size issues and will struggle against good rebounding teams. But if Abrams and Griffey continue to contribute at their current rate, the Illini will be a force to be reckoned with in the Big Ten.

Daniel is senior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @danielmillermc.