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Brad Sturdy, Co-Host IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

December 3, 2022

Illini Can’t Close

The Illini fell 71-66 in College Park on Friday night in front of a raucous crowd.

Despite a second half rally, Illinois loses Big Ten Conference opener at No. 22 Maryland 71-66 as the Terrapins shoot 9 of 23 from three-point range. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

December 2, 2022

All of Jahmir Young’s four three-point shots were devastating to Illinois’ effort to win its Big Ten Conference opener but none of them were bigger than the game-sealing he swished with 14 seconds left.

IlliniGuys Staff

December 2, 2022

#16 ILLINOIS (6-1, 0-0) Basketball Game Notes

at #22 Maryland (7-0, 0-0)

Dec. 2, 2022 | 8 p.m. CT (9 p.m. ET) | BTN | College Park, Md. | Xfinity Center

Mike Farrell, IlliniGuys National Football Recruiting Expert

December 2, 2022

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

December 5 is looming as the first official day the FBS portal opens.

Bret Bielema’s bully ball philosophy nets every 2022 Illinois starting offensive lineman honored with a postseason all-conference selection. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

December 1, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy David Craan/Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- It was a two-word message on Twitter by the offensive line coach at the University of Illinois that summed up a major reason for the resurgence of the football program. 

“All Five!!!” Bart Miller tweeted on Nov. 30 with the hashtags of #OLP #Illini #famILLy #GetDeveloped. 

The regular season finale version of the film review showcases how sophomore walk-on quarterback Cole Freeman had no chance for success outside of the pocket. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

November 30, 2022

Ryan Walters had a very specific plan for the sophomore walk-on quarterback his Illinois defense was facing in the regular season finale. 

Makira Cook celebrates her 21st birthday by dropping 22 points against an overmatched Pittsburgh squad in a 21-point road victory for Illinois. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

November 30, 2022

Makira Cook celebrated her 21st birthday by delivering Illinois its first true road win of the 2022-23 season. 

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst

November 30, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

Coleman Hawkins posted a triple double, while the Illinois defense held Syracuse to 44 points in a 73-44 thrashing that saw no Orange players in double figures. RJ Melendez showed out with 15 points and Terrence Shannon had 17 as Illinois moved to 6-1 heading into a tough stretch of games beginning at Maryland on Friday. 

Here’s what we saw.

In a 73-44 win over Syracuse, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood is basking in the beauty of how his team figured out how to thrive in what might be considered by others as ugly basketball. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

November 30, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Ron Johnson/USA Today Sports)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- In a 29-point blowout win in its ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchup, this Illinois squad accomplished something that their head coach has been talking about since he arrived in Champaign.

Brad Underwood, who is entering his sixth season leading the Illini program, constantly has spoken about his affection for finding the beauty in what a majority of basketball fans might see as ugly play. Specifically, Underwood is always looking for examples of when his basketball team finds ways to succeed on nights when jump shots aren’t falling. The 73-44 win over a struggling Syracuse team was the 2022-23 Illini’s ability to hang their version of a Jackson Pollack painting inside State Farm Center while their head coach applauded the grotesque.

Mike Farrell, IlliniGuys National Football Recruiting Expert

November 30, 2022

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

Good luck following the transfer portal as it’s already out of control and the FBS window hasn’t even opened.

By IlliniGuys Staff November 29, 2022 (Cover photo courtesy […]

Game Preview: Syracuse at #16 Illinois

Date/Time/Place: Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022: 6:30 p.m. CST, State Farm Center

Capacity: 15,544

Records: Syracuse 3-3; Illinois 5-1

Betting Line: Illinois by 12.5

Series notes: Illinois leads the all-time series 46-45-6 but the two teams haven’t played since Syracuse won 75-64 in Honolulu on Dec. 27, 1995. It’ll be Syracuse’s first trip to State Farm Center and the last Illini win was in the 1989 NCAA Tournament Regional Final round in Minneapolis. This will be the last year of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge series. 

TV: ESPN - ESPN – Dave Pasch (Play-by-Play), Fran Fraschilla (Color Analyst)

Radio (Illinois): Brian Barnhart (PBP), Deon Thomas (analysis), & Scott Beatty with Loren Tate (Pre/HT/Post) - The broadcast can be heard live on TuneIn online radio, Sirius/ XM satellite radio & SiriusXM Internet and at FightingIllini.com.

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood admits to being more patient with junior forward Coleman Hawkins now that he’s a veteran leader on this 2022-23 squad

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

November 29, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Ron Johnson/USA Today Sports)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Brad Underwood’s logic is Coleman Hawkins has earned more of his trust simply by obtaining veteran wisdom. 

The sixth-year head coach at Illinois has previously repeated that he was verbally and emotionally strict on the 6-foot-10 forward in his first two years inside the program and “harder on Coleman than anybody probably had been before”. This back-and-forth relationship, which led to Hawkins seeing more of the bench than he likely wanted and Underwood seeing less on-floor consistency than he likely wanted, culminated in an awkward postseason media session last April where Hawkins wouldn’t publicly commit to returning to Illinois for the 2022-23 season. 

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

November 29, 2022

Thanksgiving week was supposed to be a big week for St. Rita's basketball team.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

November 28, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

While Illinois' last regular season game devolved into a JV contest against Northwestern for the second year in a row, I'm still smarting enough from the Wildcats' previous six wins that I'm willing to sit through several more games like that before I'll be satisfied after watching all too many Northwestern celebrations recently.  Regardless, there were still quite a few fun plays to break down before the Mildcats lost their steam and Illinois subbed in the reserves.

I'm going to start this week's report with back to back plays that highlight the present and the future of the Illini running game.  The first play is the play in which Chase Brown got a little dinged up and the second is a similar play to the other side of the field with Reggie Love carrying the ball.

Mike Farrell, IlliniGuys National Football Recruiting Expert

November 28, 2022

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

The regular season is in the books with a surprise 8-4 record but also some disappointment at losing the Big Ten West when it was theirs to have.