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
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
ST. LOUIS — The Fighting Illini men’s basketball team demolished Missouri in the 41st annual Braggin’ Rights game Wednesday night in Saint Louis. The final score was 88-63. Kofi Cockburn tallied 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the victors. He said he’ll enjoy his holiday travels a lot more after winning the border war
CHAMPAIGN — The Fighting Illini women’s basketball team evened their record at 5-5 this season with a 78-66 win over Butler at State Farm Center Sunday afternoon. First-year guard Adalia McKenzie scored a career-high 23 points on 9-15 shooting. She also grabbed four rebounds and a steal, and dished out two assists. She credited her
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Fighting Illini men’s basketball team beat Iowa 87-83 last night in Iowa City. Jacob Grandison and Alfonso Plummer hit 4 three-pointers each, and scored 21 points apiece to lead Illinois. The two sealed the game against an Iowa comeback, with Plummer draining a three-pointer with 80 seconds remaining. Grandison was
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
CHAMPAIGN — The Fighting Illini women’s basketball team lost 67-58 to No. 25 Florida State Thursday night in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Cold shooting, turnovers and bench scoring hurt Illinois throughout. Head coach Nancy Fahey says the team was competitive until the Lady Seminoles turned up the defensive pressure. “We did a great job on
CHAMPAIGN — The Fighting Illini men’s basketball team overcame illness and injuries to beat Notre Dame 82-72 Monday night in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge at State Farm Center in Champaign. Illinois head coach Brad Underwood detailed some of his team’s ailments after the game. “I had not seen Jacob Grandison since we got home from
KANSAS CITY — One night after a blowout loss to Cincinnati, the Fighting Illini men’s basketball team figured things out on offense well enough to beat former head coach Bruce Weber’s Kansas State team 72-64 at the Hall of Fame Classic. Illinois guard Alfonso Plummer connected on 7-9 three-pointers for 21 points. That long-range threat
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the first eight minutes of the game, it looked like it would be a blowout Illini win. It ended up being a blowout loss to Cincinnati in the Hall of Fame Classic. Kofi Cockburn returned to action following a three-game suspension and launched his team to a 15-point lead, scoring
MILWAUKEE — The Illini men’s basketball team faltered during crunch time Monday night in Milwaukee. Marquette’s defense denied Illinois a field goal for the final seven minutes of play, overcoming a 12 point deficit to nip the 10th-ranked Illini 67-66. Illinois head coach Brad Underwood was aghast at his team’s failure to close out the
CHAMPAIGN — The Illini men’s basketball team opened the season with a 71-47 win over Jackson State Tuesday night in Champaign. Illinois was without starters Trent Frazier, Andre Curbelo and Kofi Cockburn. The latter is serving a three-game, NCAA-imposed suspension because he sold some personal Illini gear before deciding to return to the team for
INDIANAPOLIS — The dream is over for the Illinois men’s basketball team. A stifling, switching defense from Loyola-Chicago forced 17 Illinois turnovers, including 12 steals. Loyola guards double and triple-teamed Illini center Kofi Cockburn in the paint, and swarmed All-American guard Ayo Dosunmu at the point. Dosununmu was held to just nine points on 4-10 shooting
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 — Giorgi Bezhanishvili and Kofi Cockburn were at a loss for words as they observed the spectacle of a Big Ten Tournament Championship Sunday in Indianapolis. “I was trying to collect the whole moment within me,” said Bezhanishvili. “All these people who I’ve been with every single day, working, and see them, so so