CHAMPAIGN — The one thing missing from the Illinois women’s basketball team’s resume this season was a win over a ranked opponent. No longer. The Illini topped No. 12 Iowa 90-86 on New Year’s Day in front of a boisterous crowd of 4803 at State Farm Center. Junior guard Genesis Bryant continued her breakout season
CHAMPAIGN — The Illini men’s basketball team cut a 16-point deficit to one in the closing minutes of Thursday night’s game in Champaign, but Ohio State left town with an 86-83 win. The Buckeyes neutralized star center Kofi Cockburn in the low post, and it wasn’t until Cockburn fouled out, and coach Brad Underwood was
CHAMPAIGN — The Illinois men’s basketball team survived a second-half surge from Northwestern to beat the Wildcats 73-66 Sunday afternoon in Champaign. Junior center Kofi Cockburn scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, his 13th double-double of the season. But head coach Brad Underwood says the Illini center didn’t enjoy the game. “Tonight was as
CHAMPAIGN — The Illinois men’s basketball team beat No. 10 Michigan State 56-55 Tuesday night in Champaign, despite the absence of Kofi Cockburn and Andre Curbelo. Senior guard Trent Frazier led all scorers with 16 points and held star MSU freshman Max Christie to 1-8 shooting and just two points. Frazier also led Illinois in
LINCOLN, Neb. — Fighting Illini men’s basketball coach Brad Underwood said last night’s game at Nebraska was one he’d been concerned about since the Big Ten conference schedule was published. Illinois prevailed 81-71 Tuesday night in Lincoln, but it took some late heroics by their reserve center “Maybe the coming out party for Omar Payne,”
MINNNEAPOLIS — The Illinois men’s basketball team blew the doors off ‘The Barn’ in Minneapolis Tuesday night, coasting to a 76-53 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Williams Arena. Illinois head coach Brad Underwood says he was relieved to find his team competitive after returning from a pause due to positive COVID tests on
CHAMPAIGN – Champaign County health officials are urging caution ahead of the upcoming NCAA tournament, where the University of Illinois men’s basketball team will compete for the first time in eight years. With fans fired up from a series of recent wins, officials are worried that packed sports bars and watch parties could contribute to
INDIANAPOLIS — The Fighting Illini women’s basketball team exploded out of the gate in yesterday’s Big Ten Tournament opener, scoring the first 17 points en route to a 67-42 drubbing of Wisconsin. Freshman guard Aaliyah Nye scored a career-high 17 points to lead Illinois — including four three-pointers. She credited the Illini coaching staff for
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Fighting Illini men’s basketball team shocked the college basketball world Tuesday night with a stunning 76-53 blowout over No. 2 Michigan in Ann Arbor. Ayo Dosunmu sat out his third-straight game under concussion protocol, allowing room for Trent Frazier to score 22 points and Andre Curbelo 17 from the guard
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A season-long narrative of hot and cold quarters played out again for the Fighting Illini women’s basketball team in a 70-66 loss at Purdue Sunday afternoon. Outscored by a dozen points in the third, and trailing by 16 points in the fourth quarter, Illinois reeled off 13 straight, and then tied
MADISON — The 5th-ranked Illini men’s basketball team withstood a one-man basket barrage in the final three minutes, holding on to beat #22 Wisconsin at the Kohl Center for the second straight year. The final was 74-69. Illinois, playing without an injured Ayo Dosunmu, sustained a double-digit lead through most of the game despite committing 20
EAST LANSING, Mich. — The winning streak is over for the Illini men’s basketball team, but the 23-year streak of NCAA tournament berths is still alive for Michigan State. The Spartans out-toughed the Illini en route to an 81-72 win last night in East Lansing. Illini Trent Frazier said his team was expecting the blunt
CHAMPAIGN — The Fighting Illini women’s basketball team gave another Jekyll and Hyde performance in yesterday’s 58-50 loss to the 15th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers in Champaign. Eighteen first half fouls forced the Illini to rethink how they were defending. Coach Nancy Fahey said the analysis proved fruitful. “There’s a maneuver called a Masgov that you can
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Ayo Dosunmu went scoreless after halftime, and fouled out almost eight minutes before the final horn. But the Fighting Illini men’s basketball team managed without him in a 75-71 overtime win at Indiana last night. Trent Frazier and Andre Curbelo took the reins in a game that saw 53 personal fouls, and
CHAMPAIGN — Since the COVID-compromised 2020-21 college basketball schedule was released last autumn, January 29 had been circled on everyone’s calendar. The Illinois-Iowa game was important to Illini and Hawkeye fans, of course. But the entire country was waiting and watching. That #19 Illinois prevailed 80-75 over #7 Iowa means a bevy of non-Midwestern hoops