Basketball

Following the performance from freshman Luke Goode vs. No. 10 Michigan State, Illinois got a lift Saturday from first-year stars-in-waiting RJ Melendez and Brandin Podziemski at Northwestern.

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

January 29, 2022

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Whether it’s a practice, pre-game shootaround or game warmup, the first person on the court getting shots up on this Illinois roster is Brandin Podziemski.

Illini coach Brad Underwood talks about his team's 59-56 […]

IlliniGuys Staff January 29, 2022 EVANSTON, Ill. - Kofi […]

Connor Cagley, IlliniGuys Basketball Writer January 29, 2022 Essentials […]

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood publicly invalidates the Naismith […]

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood does enjoy the fans, takes pleasure in the Orange Krush student section, but doesn’t need your help coaching his team. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

January 28, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Look, I get the impulse. Everybody does. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

January 27, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- It would be hard to imagine two coaches more philosophically and stylistically similar than Tom Izzo and Brad Underwood. 

So it should come as very little surprise to name the player on the court who the Michigan State head coach and Illinois head coach both thought were the keys to Illinois picking up its signature win of the 2021-22 season. 

In a 56-55 victory over No. 10 Michigan State on Tuesday night, one of the main players both coaches pointed to as a difference maker was a fifth-year senior who didn’t score a point in 27 minutes of action. Neither leader of a program near the top of the Big Ten Conference cares. Not one little bit. 

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst

January 26, 2022

Illini Survive Spartans

Winning ugly is always better than losing pretty. Despite a long dry spell that saw the Illini scoreless for the final 5:32, Illinois held on for a 56-55 win over the #10 Michigan State Spartans on Tuesday night behind 16 points from Trent Frazier. The Illini played without start center Kofi Cockburn and Guard Andre Curbelo and finally got their signature win and bolstered their NCAA resume. 

Here’s a look at what we learned. 

These 3 Things

Numbers Lie? - Michigan State dominated the glass and won the second chance points battle 11-0. When was the last time Illinois had 0 2nd chance points?

Mike Cagley, IlliniGuy January 26, 2022 The Illini needed […]

IlliniGuys Staff January 25, 2022 (Cover photo courtesy Joe […]

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting 

January 25, 2022

Barring a transfer at the end of the season, which is always possible, Brad Underwood and his staff will shift their focus to the class of 2023.

Connor Cagley, IlliniGuys Basketball Writer January 25, 2022 Essentials […]

Take 1 - Illinois head coach Brad Underwood’s message […]

January 24, 2022

Seven weeks until Selection Sunday.  Let's take care of a few things:

Resetting The Illini

Last week wasn't what Illinois fans were expecting a week ago.  A chance to prove they are the best team in the Big Ten followed up by another conference road win at lowly Maryland.  Neither happened.

Get over it.

Step back and look at the big picture.  With everything that's happened this season, Illinois enters the week one game out of first place in the Big Ten and that can be rectified with a home win Tuesday night over frontrunner Michigan State.  That's incredible and beating the Spartans is very doable.

Maybe you no longer believe that the Illini should be in the conversation as a national championship contender and maybe you're right.  But for me, it's far too early to write them off.  Few teams find extreme success without their two All-American caliber players getting the chance to play together.  AND potentially the nation's top defensive player gutting it out through a shoulder that needs surgery

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

January 22, 2022

Getting student-athletes on campus to see what you have to sell is a big part in recruiting—Monday's instant classic between Purdue and Illinois