CHAMPAIGN — Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman drove from Indianapolis to Dayton right after the Illinois men’s basketball team was eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament to talk to Shauna Green about the Illini women’s basketball job. He drove from Pittsburgh to Dayton to talk with Green and her family again about the position last…
PITTSBURGH — The Illinois men’s basketball team saw its season end ingloriously Sunday afternoon, struggling to find any offensive rhythm against the country’s best defensive team, the Houston Cougars. Houston advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 68-53 victory. Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson said the key was shutting down Illinois’s primary offensive weapon. “Kofi (Cockburn),…
URBANA – The Fighting Illini men’s basketball team will travel to Pittsburgh to play the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Friday evening in the NCAA Tournament’s first round. The University of Illinois earned a number-4 seed in the South Region. The Mocs are the 13th seed after finishing first in the Southern Conference and winning their conference tournament. …
INDIANAPOLIS -The Illini men’s basketball team won’t win a second consecutive Big Ten Tournament. Ninth-seeded Indiana played its way into the NCAA tournament this afternoon in Indianapolis with a 65-63 win over the top seeded Illini. The Illini converted just 15 of their 23 shots from the free-throw line, while Indiana was 10 of 13….
URBANA — The Illinois men’s basketball team begins postseason play Friday with a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal matchup against Indana. The Illini received several all-Big Ten honors this week, with center Kofi Cockburn unanimously named first-team all-conference, guard Trent Frazier named to the second team, and guard Alfonso Plummer garnering a third-team selection. Illinois Newsroom’s…
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 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 — Snow and ice couldn’t stop the much-anticipated match-up of first place Big Ten teams last night in Champaign. No. 18 Illinois beat No. 11 Wisconsin 80-67 on a night that saw the Badgers arguably colder than the prevailing winds. Junior center Kofi Cockburn powered the Illinois offense with a game-high 37 points. Cockburn…
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…
CHAMPAIGN — The Illinois men’s basketball team took 4th-ranked Purdue to double-overtime before succumbing 96-88 on Monday afternoon. Sasha Stefanovic drained 5-8 three-pointers for a team-high 22 points. 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey connected on nine shots in the paint to add 20 for the visitors. The nationally-televised game was billed as a battle of big…
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,”…
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…