URBANA – University of Illinois standout basketball player Ayo Dosunmu is headed for the NBA Draft. The junior made the announcement on ESPN today. This spring, Dosunmu lead the Illini to the Big Ten Conference tournament title and number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. The NBA draft will take place July 29.
INDIANAPOLIS — It took Brad Underwood 26 years to become an NCAA Division I head basketball coach. But he said he never doubted the time would come. On Sunday, after Illinois men’s basketball earned the Big Ten tournament title with a 91-88 win in overtime against Ohio State, Underwood reflected on his journey. “I had
INDIANAPOLIS — Fresh off a dominant, 90-68 win over Rutgers in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals, Illinois coach Brad Underwood was overjoyed about more than just the result of the game. The Illini, the tournament’s 2-seed, dispatched 7-seed Rutgers with ease. But for the first time all season, the team also got to play in front
CHAMPAIGN — Beating the Big Ten’s worst team was a side story Thursday night for the Illini men’s basketball team. Ayo Dosunmu sat out on Senior Night after posting a video on Twitter showing a visibly swollen face. The Illini beat Nebraska 86-70 without him. Coach Brad Underwood said there’s no timetable for Dosunmu’s return,
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 – Another ten-year losing streak fell by the wayside Saturday when the Illini men’s basketball team beat #19 Wisconsin 75-60 at the State Farm Center for the first time since 2011. It’s been so long that the building was then still known as the Assembly Hall. Kofi Cockburn tallied his thirteenth double-double of the
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
CHAMPAIGN — The Maryland Terrapins now have two Big Ten wins, both on the road at nationally-ranked opponents. That’s after they upset #12 Illinois 66-63 Sunday night at State Farm Center in Champaign. Their previous conference win was at #8 Wisconsin. Daryll Morsell returned from a two-game injury break to score 19 points on 8-16
DURHAM, N.C. — Junior guard Ayo Dosunmu led six Illini in double figures, as #6 Illinois led through most of an 83-68 win at #10 Duke in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge Tuesday night. Dosunmu scored 18 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and had five assists to lead Illinois in all three categories. After the game, Dosunmu
CHAMPAIGN — The fifth-ranked Fighting Illini men’s basketball team is in Indianapolis preparing for Tuesday night’s matchup against second-ranked Baylor. It’s the first top-five matchup for Illinois since the team’s Final Four season in 2005. Junior guard Ayo Dosunmu calls the contest against Baylor a “legacy game.” “I think in five, ten years people will
CHAMPAIGN – The Illini men’s basketball team did not get a third straight blowout in the final game of their multi-team event in Champaign. Illinois beat the Ohio Bobcats 77-75 Friday, but it was a close game all the way. Ayo Dosunmu converted a pair of free throws with 2.3 seconds remaining in the second half.
CHAMPAIGN – Five Illini scored double-figures in Thursday’s 97-38 rout of visiting Chicago State at the State Farm Center in Champaign. But it was their performance on the defensive end that most pleased Coach Brad Underwood. “Defensive rebounding, we need to be dominant there, and it takes everybody,” said Underwood. “When we defensive rebound, it
Tests Prioritized As Virus Deaths In Illinois Pass 1,000 CHICAGO — Illinois has reported the deadliest 24 hours so far in the state and officials say new supplies would allow for more testing, which is essential for stopping the spread of the virus. Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday said 125 people had died in the
The Illini men’s basketball team beat Iowa 78-76 last night at the State Farm Center, securing a top-four seed and double-bye in this week’s Big Ten Tournament.
COLUMBUS – The Illini men’s basketball team lost 71-63 last night at Ohio State. Big men Kofi Cockburn and Giorgi Bezhanishvili were in foul trouble from the opening tip. Cockburn picked up his first foul 14 seconds into the game.