CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Dain Dainja was an inside force Michigan State had no answer for and Matthew Mayer hit clutch 3s in the second half as Illinois ended the Spartans seven-game win streak with a 75-66 win on Friday night. Dainja, a player Illinois coach Brad Underwood calls “a dancing bear,” powered inside and
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Illinois to a 76-50 win over Nebraska on Tuesday night. Jayden Epps scored seven points of his 13 points in an 13-0 game-ending run for the Fighting Illini (11-5, 2-3 Big Ten). Coleman Hawkins had 12 points and five
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Andrew Funk and Myles Dread combined for 11 3-pointers to give Penn State a 74-59 win over No. 17 Illinois on Saturday at the State Farm Center. Funk and Jalen Pickett led all scorers with 20 points each, Seth Lundy added 16 and Dread had 15 for Penn State. The Nittany
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Jahmir Young scored 24 points, including a crucial 3-pointer with 14.3 seconds remaining that helped No. 22 Maryland stay undefeated with a 71-66 victory over No. 16 Illinois on Friday night. Maryland is off to a sparkling 8-0 start under new coach Kevin Willard, who became the first coach in
CHAMPAIGN — Two things needed to happen for the Illini men to win a share of the Big Ten men’s basketball championship yesterday. Last-place Nebraska needed to beat first-place Wisconsin, in Madison, without its best player, Bryce McGowens. Then, Illinois needed to beat the league’s hottest team, 24th-ranked Iowa. Both happened. But not before the
CHAMPAIGN — The Illinois men’s basketball team overcame a crafty Penn State defense for a 60-55 win Thursday night in Champaign. First year Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry dedicated his defenders to shutting down Illinois’ inside-out game, preventing top scorers Kofi Cockburn and Alfonso Plummer from getting shots. That left Da’Monte Williams open. “I’ve coached
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Illinois men’s basketball team kept its hopes for a Big Ten Championship alive with a 93-85 win at Michigan Sunday afternoon. A tight 82-80 game hung in the balance when Coach Brad Underwood decided to keep the faith in his Big Ten preseason player of the year, Kofi Cockburn, three
CHAMPAIGN — The Illinois men’s basketball team improved to 4-0 in the Big Ten with a 76-64 win over Maryland Thursday night in Champaign. It wasn’t easy. After his team squandered a 14 point first half lead, head coach Brad Underwood entered the team’s locker room at halftime. “It was very professional, very businesslike. And
CHAMPAIGN — Sophomore forward Kendall Bostic grabbed 22 rebounds and scored 12 points as the Illini women’s basketball team cruised to a 71-57 win over Eastern Kentucky Sunday afternoon. Bostic spoke matter-of-factly about her rebounding effort, which was the program’s best individual rebounding performance in 40 years. “This was a team (EKU) that we really
LINCOLN, Neb. — The Illini men’s basketball team survived frigid temperatures and a feisty Nebraska squad to win its fifth straight Big Ten game Friday night in Lincoln. The overtime final was 77-72. Ayo Dosunmu scored 15 points during a stretch that spanned the final 3:21 of regulation and the first minute of overtime. Illinois
CHAMPAIGN — It didn’t take long for the Illinois men’s basketball team to bounce back from a tough loss at Missouri on Saturday in the annual Braggin’ Rights game. Kofi Cockburn scored 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as the 13th ranked Illini dominated Minnesota in their Big Ten Conference opener. Cockburn credited teammate Trent