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By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys […]

By Larry Smith - IlliniGuys Co-Founder

April 1, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Brad Underwood doesn't take any of this for granted.

"We're going into April and we get to practice. Not many teams get to do that", the Illini head coach told reporters on Tuesday. 

After returning from Houston and taking a day to celebrate the program's first NCAA regional title and Final Four trip since 2005, Underwood says the team is now busy preparing for Saturday's opponent in the national semifinals. 

"We've got our hands full with a UConn team that obviously handled us in the Garden on Black Friday. I look back at that game and I don't recognize our team, but they're different as well."

By IlliniGuys Staff March 31, 2026 (Cover photo courtesy […]

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema says he’ll be in attendance on Saturday night when the Illini take on Connecticut in the national semifinal game inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

March 31, 2026

CHAMPAIGN — Good evening (or morning when you also might be reading this) and welcome to the fourth spring football practice for the Illinois program for the 2026 season in the sixth campaign of Illini head coach Bret Bielema begins in the evening at Gies Memorial Stadium.

Illinois conducted three practices sessions last week (Monday evening, Wednesday morning and Saturday morning) with the first two sessions, per NCAA regulations, in just helmets, jerseys, spider pads (the cushioned shoulder pads worn underneath jerseys and shorts. Tonight was a 30-minute media viewing period that involved no full-team activities with a large portion of that time being team stretching but here’s the quick notes:

Let’s begin this 2026 spring coverage with the obvious: Media was given an updated version of the 2026 roster and the defensive positional changes are noticeable in the sense that Bielema (and newly-hired defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck) has elected to list all defensive players as one of three things (and only one of these three things): Defensive lineman, linebacker and defensive back. The new 3-3-5 scheme is supposed to showcase the versatility of the Illini players and Bielema has said players will be expected to line up at different places on the field from down to down in the 2026 season. The only offensive positional change on the roster is Kaden Feagin going from running back to tight end (more on him later).

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

March 30, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy LSU Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – As first reported by IlliniGuys, former five-star recruit Divine Bourrage appears set to move on from LSU after an up-and-down freshman season.

Bourrage, once ranked as the nation’s No. 4 overall prospect during her senior year by ESPN, was one of the most sought-after players in the country coming out of Davenport North. She was part of an LSU recruiting class that was ranked No. 1 in the country by the same service.

The 5-foot-10 guard held more than 29 Division I scholarship offers before committing to LSU. Prior to that decision, Bourrage told IlliniGuys that Illinois finished second on her list, behind South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, and Kansas, in that order.

Sources close to the family told IlliniGuys that Bourrage informed LSU head coach Kim Mulkey Sunday night of her decision to leave the program. The meeting appeared to catch Mulkey off guard.

By IlliniGuys Staff March 30, 2026 We'll let you […]

Kevin Kruger was “a spectator” for both times his dad cut down the nets at NCAA Tournament regional final. On Saturday in Houston, the first-year Illini assistant coach cut a portion down for himself.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

March 29, 2026

HOUSTON — There is a moment where Kevin Kruger looked up at the ladder set up near the goal closest to the Illinois pep band trying to soak in the moment.

It’s for that quick second the first-year Illinois assistant coach realized he’d be doing a lot of firsts with that pair of scissors. Following the Illini’s 71-59 win over Iowa, Kruger would be cutting a piece of this basketball net for the first time instead of watching his dad because it would be the first as a staff member of the team that had accomplished a Final Four bid.

“I’ve done this twice before with him. I was there both times,” Kruger said. “Today is the first time I did it without him. It’s still so very special and I feel very fortunate to be a part of this season. But it’s different without dad.”

Brad Sturdy, IlliniGuys Insider

March 29, 2026

I was once sitting with Brad Underwood at an AAU event and he told me that guys that he hated losing more than he loved winning. It’s a common refrain for people that are highly competitive. So I asked him about that quote after the game. Did he hate losing more than he loved winning? 

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

March 29, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Quentin Coleman, a four-star combo guard, will be on campus Monday for an official visit as Illinois continues to build momentum following its run to the Final Four.

Coleman, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound guard from The Principia School in St. Louis, is one of the top prospects in the 2026 class. According to ESPN, he is ranked as the nation’s No. 30 freshman in the country.

Illinois forward David Mirkovic continues his goofy behavior by ordering cowboy hat off Amazon to have in during a regional final celebration in Houston.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

March 29, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Matt Stevens/IlliniGuys)

HOUSTON — Hours before tipoff of a NCAA Tournament regional final game, a member of the Illinois men’s basketball training staff was carrying a giant rectangler box from the Toyota Center loading dock with a look of confusion on her face.

The package she was carrying in both hands had come from an Amazon delivery truck and the recipient on the tag was David Mirkovic. It’s safe to assume, the University of Illinois men’s basketball program had not ordered any equipment, devices, medication delivered overnight for their freshman forward to wear, use or take Saturday night against Iowa. There was a knee-jerk obvious safety concerns of a fan sending the 20-year-old from Montenegro something sinister in the mail.
However, the order was directly from an Amazon retailer and not a individual person. Finally, if it would seem unrealistic that Mirkovic, whose personality has been playfully described as anything from a kindergarten student to a 12-year-old by his own Illini teammates, would have a present for himself shipped directly to the downtown Houston arena, well, you just haven’t met David Mirkovic.

“I told her ‘oh yeah, that’s the cowboy hat I ordered’,” Mirkovic said.

The training staff employee was stunned exclaiming: “Your what?!

Long after the celebration on the playing court of the Illini’s 71-59 win over Iowa and what has become the traditional water fight in the post-game locker room, media were allowed to enter. And there was the 6-foot-8 forward sitting up in a chair in front of his locker still in full uniform with a new brown cowboy hat on his head.

Nine years ago, Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman got […]

By IlliniGuys Staff March 28, 2026 (Cover photo courtesy […]

By IlliniGuys Staff March 28, 2026 (Cover photo courtesy […]

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

March 28, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

The Illini are Elite once again, and they face a familiar foe in Big Ten rival Iowa. The 9 seeded Hawkeyes have found a way to pull upsets over #1 seed Florida and #4 seed Nebraska and are the last ‘Cinderella’ remaining in the bracket.

Illinois has won 3 games by double digits and has continued to showcase a dynamic offense, but have added in a tremendous defense, slowing down all 3 opponents with precision execution on both ends.

Here. We. Go.

Setting the Stage
2026 NCAA Tournament // Regional Final // South Region
3 Illinois (27-8, 15-5 B1G) vs. 9 Iowa (24-12, 10-10 B1G)
Saturday, March 28 // 5:09 p.m. CT // Houston, Texas // Toyota Center
TV: TBS/TruTV – Kevin Harlan, Robbie Hummel, Stan Van Gundy, & Lauren Shehadi
Radio: Busey Bank Illini Sports Network – Brian Barnhart (Play-By-Play) & Deon Thomas National Radio: Westwood One – Spero Dedes (Play-By-Play) & Fran Fraschilla (Analyst) Satellite Radio: SiriusXM – 209 or 202

Notable
*Following Thursday night's 65-55 victory over 2 seed Houston in the Sweet Sixteen, the 3 seed Fighting Illini advance to the Elite Eight against 9 seed Iowa on Saturday in Houston (5:09 p.m. CT, TBS/TruTV).

*Illinois won its 27th game of the season, tied for the fourth-most wins in program history. Brad Underwood is the first head coach in Illinois program history to win 27+ games in multiple seasons. 1. 2005 - Bruce Weber, 37-2 – National Runner-Up 2. 1989 - Lou Henson, 31-5 – Final Four 3. 2024 - Brad Underwood, 29-9 – Elite Eight T4. 2025 - Brad Underwood, 27-8 – Elite Eight T4. 2001 - Bill Self, 27-8 – Elite Eight

*Illinois also picked up its third win over an AP top-5 ranked opponent this season, tying the program record set in 1951-52. Illinois is making its 36th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and sixth* straight (*seventh precluded by cancellation of 2020 Tournament due to COVID-19).

*Illinois is playing in the Elite Eight for the second time in three seasons. In 2024, Head Coach Brad Underwood also led the Fighting Illini to an Elite Eight appearance, the program's first since 2005.

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

March 28, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

The Illini have advanced to the Elite 8 and will face the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday at 5:09 PM CST in a battle of Big Ten rivals. But before we move on, let’s clean up the notebook from the Houston game.