Ked's Recruiting Roundup - Yes, Coaches Having to Re-Recruit Their Current Players Is a Real Thing
Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting
March 10, 2025
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – As the men’s and women’s college basketball seasons wind down, coaches must immediately begin building their rosters for the next season.
Illini Men's Basketball - Growing Up
Brad Sturdy, Illini Insider & Co-Host IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular
March 9, 2025
The Illini finally won a close game by making plays down the stretch. They used a 13-1 run in the final 3 minutes to close out Purdue 88-80 as they continue to show growth since the loss to Duke at Madison Square Garden.
Meet The New, Improved & Confident Illini ‘Glue Guy’ in March - Tre White
Following a spectacular performance in win over Purdue, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood may argue with anybody that his most improved player is Tre White.
By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer
CHAMPAIGN — Purdue head coach Matt Painter got introduced to the full Tre White experience from Illinois.
Following a 88-80 loss to the Illini, the Boilermakers 20-year head coach said he’d leave State Farm Center Friday night with one baffling thought.
“We just defensively couldn’t pick up the dive cut guy in our rotations,” Painter said shaking his head. “We just couldn’t take the dive guy. It drives me nuts.”
Illini Close Regular Season With 88-80 Upset of 18th Ranked Purdue
By IlliniGuys Staff March 7, 2025 (Cover photo courtesy […]
‘We need rest’: Illini Women’s Hoops Going To Take Time Off Before Selection Sunday
After surviving multiple significant injuries to key players, Illinois head coach Shauna Green is going to focus on body recovery before her team’s NCAA Tournament game.
By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer
March 7, 2025
INDIANAPOLIS — In the week prior to being selected to the WBIT field, Shauna Green put her squad through some of the most grueling practices and intrasquad scrimmages of the season to get prepared for a postseason run.
Needless to say, the Illinois third-year head coach will not be doing that from now to when the NCAA Tournament bracket being revealed on the night of March 16 (7 p.m. CST on ESPN).
Sturdy's Preview: Statement Game
By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular
March 7, 2025
The Illini are solidly in the NCAA field but have a chance to move up at least a seed line, and possibly more next week. They have lost 5 in a row in this series and need this win to show how good they can be when healthy. The Illini dominated Michigan on Sunday, but the Boilers are coming off a beat down of Rutgers and appear to be gaining steam.
It should be a good one.
Setting the Stage
Illinois (19-11, 11-8 B1G) vs. #18 Purdue (21-9, 13-6 B1G)
Friday, March 7, 2025 // 7 p.m. CT // Champaign, Ill. // State Farm Center
TV: FOX – Jason Benetti (Play-by-Play) & Bill Raftery (Analyst)
Radio: Busey Bank Illini Sports Network – Brian Barnhart (Play-By-Play) & Deon Thomas National Radio: Compass Media Networks – Wayne Larrivee (Play-By-Play) & Danny Green
Illinois Recruiting Target Ends Junior Campaign with Illinois Coaches in Attendance
By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting
March 7, 2025
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Lincoln Williams, the 6-foot-4, 180-pound junior shooting guard from Kankakee, is no stranger to Illinois fans in terms of recruiting. According to him, he has visited Champaign eight or nine times this season.
‘Are they running out of gas? I don't know.’: Illini Fourth-Quarter Falters Becoming Trend
Illinois head coach Shauna Green will now have 10 days to evaluate why the final 10 minutes of games has been the achilles heel for this 2024-25 group in late February and March.
By Matt Stevens' - IlliniGuys Staff Writer
March 6, 2025
INDIANAPOLIS — Now it’s becoming a nasty trend.
The first game of the 2025 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament served as a second straight game in which Illinois saw a disastrous fourth quarter lead to a loss.
Shauna Green’s mood turned drastically in the final 10 minutes of play as the Illinois head coach watched her squad get outscored by Nebraska 25-14 in the final quarter to pull off a 74-70 upset win and send the Illini home from Gainbridge Fieldhouse earlier than they obviously hoping to stay.
“This game just comes down to, again, the fourth quarter and really our last five minutes again,” Green said. “It's something that we've struggled with the last few games. Their best scoring run was in the fourth. That can't happen. We gave up whatever it was in the fourth, and then again, everything we've been talking about was finishing plays, getting those rebounds. It's why we lost really the Michigan game, and we did the same thing tonight.”
A Big Matchup in Indy: Kendall Bostic & Nebraska’s Alexis Markowski Meet One More Time
Two of the best centers in the Big Ten and all of women’s college basketball will face off as 7-seed Illinois draws 10-seed Nebraska in the second round of the league tournament tonight.
By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer
March 6, 2025
INDIANAPOLIS — In her return to her home state for her final Big Ten Tournament, Kendall Bostic has drawn the other center in the conference receiving so much attention this season.
When the ball is tipped at 5:30 p.m. CST tonight on Big Ten Network, the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd will immediately see the league’s two best centers in the circle when Bostic and Nebraska’s Alexis Markowski are matched up one time. The duo represents two players selected to the league’s first team all conference selections by the league’s media contingent and rank No. 3 (Bostic’s 53) and No. 4 (Markowski’s 52) among active players in career double-double performances.
Ked's Recruiting Roundup: Offseason Moves Could Be Key to Illinois Women's Basketball Continuing Its Winning Ways
By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting
March 5, 2025
(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – After almost three years under head coach Shauna Green, the Illinois women's basketball program appears to be in great hands. This past Sunday marked Senior Day, as the team bid farewell to a significant portion of its scoring. This year's graduating class includes Genesis Bryant, Makira Cook, Adalia McKenzie, Brynn Shoup-Hill, and Kendall Bostic, who all played special roles in resurrecting the Illinois women's program.
Illini's Bostic Earns All-Big Ten 1st Team Honors
(From Illinois Sports Information Office) CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Following a […]
Heat Checks & Hail Marys - Illini Hoops Lessons, Boxing Turns into WWE & Bret Bielema's Offseason
Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular and Big Sports Radio […]
Ked's Recruiting Roundup: Illinois in Strong Position for Wing Dame Sarr
By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting
March 3, 2025
(Photo courtesy FIBA Basketball)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Late last week, talented shooting guard Dame Sarr, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound prospect from Italy, announced his top three schools: Illinois, Arizona, and Creighton.
IlliniGuys learned early Monday morning that Illinois has positioned itself well to land Sarr, but the Bluejays and Wildcats remain in strong contention.
Illini See Fourth-Quarter Lead Evaporate vs. Michigan’s Late Energy
For the first time in the 2024-25 season, Illinois saw a fourth-quarter lead evaporate thanks to a team with more depth, more energy and more poise in the final minutes.
By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer
March 2, 2025
CHAMPAIGN — The final three and a half minutes of the last regular season home game produced the nightmare scenario that the Illinois women’s basketball program has been desperately trying to avoid.
With a 65-59 lead, Illinois simply ran out of energy, offense and the will to stop a Michigan run that felt like it would’ve continued to get worse if the clock hadn’t run up of time. Michigan turned a six-point deficit into a 78-69 win on the momentum of a 19-4 run to finish the spoiling of a Senior Day celebration and State Farm Center.
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