Basketball

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

February 26, 2024

Look, I’m not going to tell you that this Illinois defense is becoming elite like Houston or Tennessee, or even very good. But it was better on Saturday when they took on the high scoring Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa scored 85 points, but in a 74-possession game for a top 12 offense, that isn’t bad. But the second half was much better. The Hawkeyes scored 1.077 PPP in the second half, and after Brad Underwood subbed at the 18-minute mark, the Hawks were under 1 point per possession for the remainder of the second half. That’s very good defensively against that team.

And perhaps even more importantly, they forced Iowa into mostly difficult shots. Although the Hawks shot 62% in the first half from 2-point range, they shot just 34% in the second half on mostly the same shots. They also only allowed 12 3-point attempts, essentially playing the type of defense that Brad Underwood loves. Diving deeper, Iowa was 12-19 at the rim, the fewest shots at the rim that Illinois has allowed since the Rutgers game, back on December 2nd. That’s a big improvement. 

All Illinois head coach Shauna Green could do after a game where they gave up 101 points was hope and believe one day her Illini offense can come close to looking like 2023-24 Iowa. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

February 25, 2024

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Imagine being an opposing head coach and coming out of the 40-minute assignment of Caitlin Clark’s Iowa onslaught with a smile on your face after giving up 101 points. 

After giving up a 30-point opening quarter, Illinois couldn’t properly settle down in the final 30 minutes during a 101-85 loss at No. 4 Iowa on Sunday afternoon. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

February 25, 2024

IOWA CITY, Iowa — While the motto for this 2023-24 season has been for Illinois women’s basketball to ignore the start and focus on the finish, its 40 minutes at Carver-Hawkeye resembled its season progress. 

A bad start that saw No. 4 Iowa rack up 30 points in the opening quarter never allowed Illinois to maintain any momentum toward a viable comeback effort in a 101-85 loss for the upset-minded Illini on Sunday afternoon. 

Mike Cagley, Co-Host IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular and Big Sports […]

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Illinois redshirt freshman guard Niccolo Moretti was part of a five-player substitution by an angry Brad Underwood with 18 minutes to go but would only leave the floor again for 48 seconds.

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

February 24, 2024

CHAMPAIGN — Niccolo Moretti went from being used as a motivational prop to being a motivational hero in just 19 minutes of action Saturday. 

Illinois got enough defensive stops to survive a test from an offensively confident Iowa squad to get to its 20th win of the 2023-24 season. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

February 24, 2024

CHAMPAIGN — In a matchup of the two of the league’s best scoring teams, Illinois won an offensive slugfest in State Farm Center. 

The Illini dispatched an upset-minded Iowa squad 95-85 in a game where the home team shot nearly 50 percent from the field to negate the idea that they gave up over 80 points for the fifth time this month.

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

February 24, 2024

Iowa and Illinois are two of the highest scoring and best offensive teams in the country. They are also two teams that are struggling mightily on the defensive end of the floor. The ?Hawkeyes are trying to get a scalp for their NCAA tournament hopes, while the Illini are hoping to slide up a line in NCAA bracketology. It’s the annual orange out game for the Illini, so the place should be rocking.

Setting the Stage

#12 Illinois (19-7, 10-5 B1G) vs. Iowa (16-11, 8-8 B1G) 

Feb. 24, 2024 // 1:15 p.m. CT // Champaign, Ill. // State Farm Center 

TV: BTN – Connor Onion (Play-by-Play), Robbie Hummel (Analyst) 

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

Illini Notables

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood put his team through a brutal and physical two-hour practice session following another disappointing defensive effort at Penn State. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

February 23, 2024

CHAMPAIGN — Luke Goode has been on this roster long enough to know what it meant when he arrived at the Ubben Basketball Facility for practice Thursday without being sent a practice plan yet.

The junior forward understood this set of events meant he and his teammates were in for a mentally awakening and physical tasking two-hour session. 

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

February 22, 2024

The Fighting Illini led by as many as 14 points in the second half, by 10 with 2:30 to play and by 7 in the final minute. And yet they came away from Happy Valley with a 90-89 loss to Penn State, their 4th consecutive loss to the Nittany Lions and dashed their Big Ten title hopes. It’s another collapse late in the game, following the Michigan State and Nebraska games. 

At some point this team needs to figure it out. 

Deep Thoughts

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood calls out players for defensive mental errors, blown assignments and fundamental lack of detail in a 90-89 loss at Penn State. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

February 22, 2024

The head men’s basketball coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is clearly at the blunt honesty stage with his veteran players following a monumental collapse at Penn State. 

In the post-game media conference after a devastating and confusing 90-89 loss inside Recreation Hall on the Pennsylvania State University campus where No. 12 Illinois gave up the game’s last eight points and was outscored 12-2 over the final minute and 50 seconds, Brad Underwood felt the need to call out players for what he called “blown assignment”, “a lack of attention to detail”, “silly mistakes” and a “wrong mentality” about disregarding the defensive end of the floor. 

By IlliniGuys Staff February 21, 2024 (Cover photo courtesy […]

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

February 21, 2024

The Illini are in Happy Valley Wednesday night to take on their nemesis from a year ago, the Penn State Nittany Lions. PSU beat Illinois 3 times a year ago, although many of those players are gone and there is a new coach in town in Mike Rhoades, it’s definitely a game that should have some revenge motives for the Fighting Illini. 

The Nittany Lions return to their roots Wednesday night when Penn State hosts #12 Illinois in its Return to Rec game. Rec Hall was the longtime home of Nittany Lion basketball until a 1996 move to the Bryce Jordan Center. Rec Hall had a final listed capacity of 6,846 for basketball, but more than 8,000 fans jammed into the iconic building for a basketball game six times in the building’s history, including a record 8,600 fans for a contest vs. Virginia on Dec. 5, 1973.

Expect a packed and raucous crowd on Wednesday evening. 

Setting the Stage

#12AP/12 Illinois (19-6, 10-4 B1G) at Penn State (12-14, 6-9 B1G) 

February 21, 2024 // 5:30 p.m. CT (6:30 p.m. ET) // University Park, Pa. // Rec Hall 

TV: BTN – Jason Horowitz (Play-by-Play), Stephen Bardo (Analyst) 

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

Notables

Tim Anderson's Crucial Role in Recruiting Could Help Women Land Recruit

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

February 20, 2024

In college basketball recruiting, the right connections and relationships can make all the difference. Destiny Jackson, a 5-foot-6, four-star recruit from Whitney Young High School in Chicago, holds the title of the number one high school recruit in the state of Illinois for the Class of 2025.

Recently visiting the Illinois women's basketball program could be a game-changer in her recruitment, and a familiar face might just be the key.

The 86-66 win over No. 14 Indiana is just one part of a regular season finale stretch for an Illinois women’s basketball team trying to salvage an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

February 20, 2024

CHAMPAIGN — While suddenly in the role of a late arriving guest to a party they weren’t ever invited to in the first place, the next three weeks for the Illinois women’s basketball could see them crashing the 2024 NCAA Tournament. 

Following the season-defining 86-66 victory over No. 14 Indiana where Shauna Green’s program led for the final 30 minutes and without a doubt showcased its best version of itself, Illinois now has an opportunity no other team in Division I currently outside of the postseason bubble has in its regular season finish.