Basketball

Brad Sturdy, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular & Big Sports Radio Co-Host and Illini Uber-Insider

February 10, 2024

The Fighting Illini are on the road on Saturday in a road tilt that will likely determine whether they are a legit player for the Big Ten title. Illinois is ranked in the top 10 in the opening poll of February for the first time since Feb. 6, 2006, and the Illini sit one game behind Purdue in the loss column in 2nd place alone and will need a strong finish to catch the Boilers. It starts on Saturday at Michigan State against a desperate Spartan squad that needs this win if they want to continue their 25-year streak of NCAA tournament appearances. 

The Spartans have just 2 Quad 1 wins at the moment, and one will likely slide to a Quad 2, and have only at Purdue remaining as a Quad 1. Should they lose this game, they would have almost no margin for error down the stretch. 

Here are our keys and a pick:

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

February 10, 2024

Lincoln Williams, a 6-foot-5, 180-pound shooting guard from the class of 2026, who recently received a scholarship offer from Illinois, making this his first Power 5 offer.

(From Illinois Sports Information Office) Media Box | YouTube […]

Jamarion Batemon, 3-star recruit from Milwaukee Considering Illinois in His Top Three

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

February 8, 2024

In the world of college basketball recruiting, Jamarion Batemon, a 6-3, 170-pound combo guard from Milwaukee, WI, is making noise as a 2025 three-star recruit. He is currently attending the Milwaukee Academy of Science. Sunday, Batemon made his second unofficial visit to the University of Illinois. 

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

February 6, 2024

On Sunday, 4-Star prospect Steven Reynolds took in the Illini experience on gameday on an unofficial visit. South Bend, Indiana's Steven Reynolds, a 6-foot-5, 170-pound shooting guard from the class of 2026, recently experienced a game at the State Farm Center. On this unofficial visit, Reynolds witnessed an Illinois victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers 87-84 in overtime on Sunday evening.

(Editor's note: IlliniGal Adalia McKenzie appears each week on […]

Brad Sturdy, Co-Host IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular & Big Sports Radio & Illini Uber Insider

February 5, 2024

The Illini took a 10-point lead on a Terrence Shannon 3-pointer at 72-62 with 3:29 to play and Brad Underwood called a timeout to set his defense to prevent 3 pointers. 

“We just made a subtle change…” Underwood said. “It’s a downhill switch. We knew what was coming…we were gonna be OK with 2’s we just couldn’t give them 3’s. I called the timeout there, probably not a great decision because it maybe changed the momentum, but I still would have made the same call over and over again.”

On Sunday night, Coleman Hawkins finally got a matchup similar in stature and game and proved he was a more athletic, smarter and versatile center against Nebraska’s Rienk Mast. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

February 5, 2024

CHAMPAIGN — Victory for Coleman Hawkins on Sunday night wasn’t so much a sight but a distinct sound. 

By IlliniGuys Staff February 4, 2024 (Cover photo courtesy […]

Brad Sturdy, Co-Host IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular & Big Sports Radio & Uber-Illini Insider

February 4, 2024

The Illini welcome the Nebraska Cornhuskers to the State Farm Center on Sunday night as they look to take advantage of a 4-day prep and an upcoming 5-day prep after a grind of a start to Big Ten play. The Illini will be in a tie for 2nd place in the league following this one if they can pull out the win, just 1 game behind the Purdue/Wisconsin winner. As the Illini attempt to improve their NCAA seeding and fight for a Big Ten title, they need to take care of business at home starting on Sunday evening. 

Below are our keys and a pick. 

Setting the Stage

#14 Illinois (16-5, 7-3 B1G) vs. Nebraska (16-6, 6-5 B1G) 

Feb. 4, 2024 // 5:30 p.m. CT // Champaign, Ill. // State Farm Center 

TV: BTN – Dave Revsine (Play-by-Play), Robbie Hummel (Analyst) 

Radio: Busey Bank Illini Sports Network – Brian Barnhart (Play-By-Play), Deon Thomas

Notables

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

February 4, 2023

Fresh off their road win Wednesday night against the Michigan Wolverines the Fighting Illini 77-64 avenging a devastating loss at home 84-48. The very next day the staff went out looking for the next prospect. 

(Editor's note: Illini guard Marcus Domask appears each week […]

Illinois center Dain Dainja has been a little-used backup this season but Illinois head coach Brad Underwood is trying to find more ways for the Baylor transfer to contribute. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

February 4, 2023

CHAMPAIGN — The mission for Illinois head coach is as uncomplicated as you might think. 

As the calendar has flipped to the final two months of the season, Brad Underwood is convinced he needs to find more minutes for reserve center Dain Dainja. However, in order to accomplish this task, the tradeoff is taking one of his favorite and most versatile bigs, Coleman Hawkins, off the floor. 

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

February 2, 2024

While Illinois's assistant coach Chester Frazier is helping lead the 14th-ranked Fighting Illini to victories, he is also a masterful recruiter which is the livelihood of any successful program.

Illinois freshmen duo Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn and Amani Hansberry were both forced into action late in the first half of the win at Ohio State but performed more than adequately in emergency relief.  

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

February 1, 2024

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a critical conference game away from home, Illinois found itself in a situation where two of its most important players had two fouls in the first half and head coach Brad Underwood desperately looked down his bench.