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
INDIANAPOLIS — The first time Illinois center Kofi Cockburn and Iowa center Luka Garza faced off, back in 2020, Garza owned the day. The Hawkeyes’ 6-foot-10 playmaker made Cockburn look inexperienced and uncomfortable, limiting him to just six points in a 72-65 Hawkeyes win in January of 2020. On that day, Garza exploded for 25
INDIANAPOLIS — The Fighting Illini men’s basketball team will face Ohio State for the Big Ten Tournament crown Sunday afternoon in Indianapolis. Illinois downed the Iowa Hawkeyes 82-71 in what might be the final meeting against Iowa’s National Player of the Year, Luka Garza. Kofi Cockburn prevailed in the battle of the big men, and
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
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Fighting Illini men’s basketball team shocked the college basketball world Tuesday night with a stunning 76-53 blowout over No. 2 Michigan in Ann Arbor. Ayo Dosunmu sat out his third-straight game under concussion protocol, allowing room for Trent Frazier to score 22 points and Andre Curbelo 17 from the guard
MADISON — The 5th-ranked Illini men’s basketball team withstood a one-man basket barrage in the final three minutes, holding on to beat #22 Wisconsin at the Kohl Center for the second straight year. The final was 74-69. Illinois, playing without an injured Ayo Dosunmu, sustained a double-digit lead through most of the game despite committing 20