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Illinois Basketball

Brad Underwood in Illinois gear

Illinois coach goes viral for regrettable quote before losing to UConn

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood on Saturday remained steadfast with his team’s strategy against UConn. Underwood’s game plan did not exactly work to perfection. Illinois had their NCAA Tournament run cut short in the Elite Eight after …

Julian Reese against Illinois

Maryland and Illinois have bizarre confrontation during postgame handshakes

There appeared to be some lingering bad blood between the Maryland Terrapins and Illinois Fighting Illini following Sunday’s game. The Terps scored a 76-67 upset win on the road against the Illini, but things got a bit tense in the postgame …

Terrence Shannon Jr at a press conference

Illinois star Terrence Shannon Jr. suspended following rape charge

Illinois basketball star Terrence Shannon Jr. has been suspended from all team activities after he was charged with rape. A warrant was issued for Shannon’s arrest on Wednesday by the Douglas County district attorney’s office in Kansas. …

Matthew Mayer playing for Illinois

Illinois forward missed multiple practices with bizarre illness

Illinois forward Matthew Mayer missed several days of practice this week with a pretty embarrassing illness. Mayer revealed Wednesday that he missed two days of practice due to “caffeine poisoning.” How did he get it? He drank six Monster …

Brad Underwood in Illinois gear

Brad Underwood goes off on officials over terrible technical foul call

Illinois coach Brad Underwood fumed about what he felt was a game-changing technical foul call in his team’s NCAA Tournament loss on Sunday. Illinois freshman RJ Melendez was called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim too long after a …

RJ Melendez gets a technical foul

Video: Illinois’ RJ Melendez called for absurd technical foul on dunk

Illinois freshman RJ Melendez was called for a technical foul at a crucial moment during his team’s NCAA Tournament game against Houston on Sunday, and the Fighting Illini were right to be furious about it. Melendez threw down a breakaway dunk …

Brad Underwood in Illinois gear

Brad Underwood wanted Illinois fans to show up drunk and rowdy for game

Brad Underwood knew that he needed the support of Illinois fans ahead of his team’s game against Michigan on Friday night. He also knew that having them a little boozy might help. Underwood shared his request for Illini fans on Thursday, a day …

Iowa Hawkeyes logo

Iowa’s Jordan Bohannon throws shade at Illinois

Iowa guard Jordan Bohannon threw some shade at Illinois while in a Twitter spat with an Illini fan site. Bohannon was in a Twitter spat with an account for an Illinois podcast. The two sides went back-and-forth after Illinois beat Iowa 82-71 in the …

Big Ten could be key to picking your NCAA Tournament brackets

There’s a lot to consider when filling out your NCAA Tournament bracket, but one thing that can help is understanding the relative strengths and weaknesses of the conferences that teams play in. That’s why the Big Ten is so important this …

Ohio State Illinois bad beat

Ohio State gets backdoor cover against Illinois in horrible gambling beat

Illinois defeated Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament championship on Sunday, and the way the game ended may have been more painful for gamblers than it was for the Buckeyes. Ohio State trailed 91-85 with less than four seconds remaining in overtime …

Mark Few

5 teams most likely to win the NCAA Tournament

March Madness is unlike any other sport’s playoff format. Winning six games against six opponents in just three weeks is a unique test that only certain teams are cut out to accomplish. In this year’s tournament, with COVID protocols and all of the …

Kelvin Sampson

5 surprising teams that could reach the Final Four

As March approaches, the conversation around college basketball focuses on two areas: the top of the bracket, and the bubble. Everyone is eager to figure out the top seeds and the last teams in the tournament. That does a disservice to one of the …

Brad Underwood

Brad Underwood stuns Oklahoma State, leaves to take Illinois job

After just one season at Oklahoma State, coach Brad Underwood is movin’ on up again. ESPN’s Jeff Goodman reported Saturday that Underwood is departing Stillwater to join the Illinois Fighting Illini. Illinois has hired Oklahoma State’s …

Illinois frat bros react to Cliff Alexander faking them out, choosing Kansas (Video)

Cliff Alexander is one of the top-ranked basketball players in the high school class of 2014. As of Friday morning, he had reportedly narrowed his college decision down to four schools — Illinois, Kansas, Memphis and DePaul. Being that he is …

Kenny Kadji Illinois

Did Illinois get robbed by referees at end of loss to Miami?

Referees may have hurt Illinois with a bad call in the final minute of their 63-59 loss to Miami in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament Sunday. Illinois was down 57-55 with 45 seconds left when senior guard D.J. Richardson attempted a 3-pointer …

Bruce Weber isn’t Happy with the Media

Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber hasn't had the swellest run of it lately; two of his players were recently involved in a car accident, one of whom, Jamar Smith, is being charged on two felony counts. Prior to that incident, there were a …

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