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Mike Farrell, IlliniGuys National Football Recruiting Expert

March 15, 2023

(Mike Farrell also has his own website: https://mikefarrellsports.com/)

In this edition of the Farrell Files Illinois, I’ll look at another DB target and break down some of the top 2024 LB targets.

By Larry Smith - IlliniGuys Staff Member

March 15th, 2023

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

It was March, 2001.  I was at an opening round NCAA tournament game and the gentleman sitting next to me was a veteran referee who had worked numerous postseason tourneys over the years.  Recognizing me from CNN/SI, he struck up a conversation.  He became so comfortable that he admitted to me that he'd once given a star player's foul to another player in order to keep him in the game.

I was shocked by this revelation.  If a referee was fully aware of time and score in the waning moments of a game, what else are they capable of?

When my plane landed, I headed straight for the office to begin my research.  Those scribbles would collect in a notebook for eight years when I finally asked myself 'what would happen if I put all of this work into my bracket for the friendly office pool?'  The year was 2009 and I ignored the usually clueless pundits of the cable network world and depended solely on my own work.  The result:  two office pool victories and more than $1,000 in my pocket.

And that's how the Dirty Dozen was born.  It's a matrix; examining the top 24 teams - or top six seed lines - the matrix can tell you the 12 teams that will NOT win the NCAA championship.

And it has never missed!

A perfect 12-0 heading into this March.  The biggest to fall would have to be the 2015 Kentucky team that finished the regular season undefeated.  As I began to share the Dozen list with hoop fans that year, I was often accused of hating Wildcats coach John Calipari and thus called his team "dirty".  I would explain that this is not what I say or think; it's the matrix that decides and that's the point.  It eliminates bias and all emotion.  It doesn't matter who the coach is or what the team did last year or their school colors or how many banners hang in their home arena.  It's strictly a numbers game.

Before I reveal the list (note: IlliniGuys members always get the list first), I need to remind you that this is strictly for entertainment.  Past results have no bearing on future outcomes.  This process has been perfect every year since its inception (there was no Dozen in the COVID years of 2020 & 2021), but at some point it has to fail.  As its creator, I am fully aware of this.

So here it is - the 13th annual Dirty Dozen. Like the years before this, I have no faith in its chance of success.  It's not the list I would pick personally.  So, as much as anything, I'll watch in amazement to see if it can survive again, just as its brothers have before it.

Enjoy the games and may this help enhance your own bracket and earn you a few more dollars in your office pool!

(Subscription required for further access.  Sign up here: https://illiniguys.com/subscribe/ )

Illinois first-year head coach Shauna Green had no realistic expectations for this season until she invited perennial powerhouse Notre Dame to an empty State Farm Center for an October scrimmage.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

March 14, 2023

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The mental turning point for Shauna Green in her first season as the women’s basketball head coach at the University of Illinois might have been when her team played an opponent with no fans in the stands and no official stats were kept.

Notre Dame, a program coming off a third place finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference, a consistent Top 20 ranking throughout the 2021-22 season and a Sweet 16 appearance in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, came to State Farm Center in the second-to-last weekend in October to play in the annual ‘dark scrimmage’ game just 11 days before the Illini’s exhibition opener. Green’s program over the last five years had won just seven total Big Ten Conference games. By the time Illinois center Kendall Bostic and Notre Dame forward Maddy Westbeld battled for the opening tip, the expectation bar for this first-year Illini coaching staff was not high. 

Illinois head coach Shauna Green is hopeful sophomore forward Brynn Shoup-Hill (ankle/foot) can play in the NCAA Tournament play-in round against Mississippi State on Wednesday night.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

March 14, 2023

(Photos courtesy Illinois Athletics)

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Brynn Shoup-Hill certainly hopes to be on pace to make her return to the playing floor tomorrow night in the NCAA Tournament. 

Illini forward Brynn Shoup-Hill hopes to return after missing the last four games with an undisclosed lower leg injury. (Photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

The Illinois sophomore forward was out of the walking boot and active for the open practice session on the Bryce Center floor Tuesday afternoon. Shoup-Hill, who along with guard Jayla Oden has been out of the lineup since Feb. 22 due to an injury to her right foot, continues to make progress in her rehabilitation to possibly be medically cleared for Illinois’ play-in round game in the NCAA Tournament against Mississippi State (6 p.m. CST, ESPNU).

Brad Sturdy, Co-Host IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

March 14, 2023

In many cases this will be a longer, drawn out process as many of the players that Illinois is going to target may be declaring for the draft.

Despite a one-year turnaround that matched the all-time Big Ten Conference record, Illinois is slated for the NCAA Tournament play-in round against Mississippi State on Wednesday night.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

March 13th, 2023

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- After 20 years of waiting, the NCAA Tournament selection moment was a muddled, confusing and silent response from the University of Illinois women’s basketball team on Sunday night. 

Not only was Illinois put in a Wednesday night play-in game but the ESPN selection show special made a broadcast mistake that presented the entire Greensboro 1 region altogether after celebrating No. 1 and undefeated South Carolina’s pod in Columbia. Nobody in the Illinois program, which hadn’t seen a NCAA Tournament appearance for 20 years before Sunday, got the satisfaction of seeing its name individually revealed and even if ESPN had done the television broadcast in the correct order, it would’ve had to share the historic moment with Mississippi State. 

Mike Farrell, IlliniGuys National Football Recruiting Expert

March 13, 2023

(Mike Farrell also has his own website: https://mikefarrellsports.com/)

In this edition of the Farrell Files Illinois, I’ll focus on a few key 2024 and 2025 targets one of whom will be visiting soon.

University of Illinois Athletics March 12, 2023 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. […]

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

March 12, 2023

When Illinois offered 2024 quarterback Danny O'Neil from Indianapolis, it appeared it was just another offer because he is a Midwest prospect.

March, 11, 2023

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Illini sophomore guard Adalia McKenzie has been a weekly contributor on the IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular radio show since January, 2022 and sits down for an exclusive interview with the IlliniGuys after each game.

By IlliniGuys Staff 

March 11, 2023

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst Brad Sturdy has been working the phones and talking with others to gather info on the team prior to the NCAA tournament.

He shared what he's learned last night with IlliniGuys.com members and has the latest on the Illini's recruiting, potential movement among current team members in the offseason, and more in this latest update.

This is exclusive content for IlliniGuys members.  To subscribe, click here:  https://illiniguys.com/subscribe/

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

March 11, 2023

St. Ignatius High School made it to the IHSA 3A semifinals in Champaign, Illinois.

Witherspoon confirms he’ll return to Champaign for a private NFL scouting workout on April 5.

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

March 10, 2023

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- National Football League pro personnel are likely going to need to schedule one more trip to Champaign County, Illinois.

Mike Farrell, IlliniGuys National Football Recruiting Expert

March 10, 2023

(Mike Farrell also has his own website: https://mikefarrellsports.com/)

In this edition of the Farrell Files Illinois, I’ll focus on the top defensive back targets in the 2024 class with some nice momentum from the NFL Draft projections of Devon Witherspoon, Sydney Brown and Jartavius Martin.

Brad Sturdy, Co-Host IlliniGuys Staff Writer

March 10, 2023

Takeaways
Matchups Matter -