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Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular January 20, 2025 The […]

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

January 19, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Troy Stolt/Naperville Sun)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois men’s basketball received a commitment from one of the top-scoring guards in high school basketball late Friday evening, as Neuqua Valley standout Mason Martin pledged to the Illini and will keep one of the best shooting guards in the state at home.

Martin, a 6-foot-5, 180-pound shooting guard, became the second commitment for head coach Brad Underwood in the 2027 recruiting class. Peoria native Quinton Kitt pledged to Illinois on Thanksgiving.

We caught up with Martin to discuss what went into his decision to commit early in the process and why he chose Illinois.

Illinois plans on going with a double point guard look as long as Gretchen Dolan’s knee injury continues to be an issue in this 2025-26 season.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

January 19, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The second consecutive game without Illinois’ second-leading scorer allowed Shauna Green to turn to a double point guard lineup she’s been familiar with in his Illini tenure.

With Gretchen Dolan’s knee injury continuing to be a problem forcing the third-year guard to be in a sweatsuit Sunday, Illinois went with a third starting lineup in this 2025-26 season with Aaliyah Guyton making her first start for the Illini since arriving this offseason. The Peoria, Ill., native and star transfer from Iowa had been progressing through an injury-plagued start to the season as Destiny Jackson’s backup but in a home game against an under .500 Northwestern squad, Green elected to play together the back-to-back No. 1 overall players in the state of the Illinois out of high school.

Guyton responded to this role change with 13 points, three assists and three rebounds and was a plus-6 in 30 minutes of action.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

January 19, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Briana Pace/The Indiana Daily Student)

Welcome to part 1 of 3 of the Cignetti Recipe. College Football's wunderkind has been so popular in the media that I've seen dozens of theories about what has allowed his instant success at a moribund program, so I decided to take a deep dive myself. In the first part, I'm going to look at Cignetti himself and his Indiana coaching staff.

First, Prepare yourselves for a wave of coincidences. This story starts not with Curt Cignetti, but with his father Frank Cignetti, Sr. Frank earned a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame after putting together 20 years of excellence at Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania, just outside of Pittsburgh. Frank Cignetti took over the IUP program after failing as the head coach of West Virginia. He had been Bobby Bowden's top assistant at West Virginia and took over the program after Bowden left for Florida State.

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

January 18, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

The Illini found a way to grind out a win over a tough Minnesota Gophers squad on Saturday behind a big effort from Zvonimir Ivisic, who had 18 points and 9 rebounds off the bench. Keaton Wagler had 17 points and 5 assists, while David Mirkovic (12 points) and Tomislav Ivisic (10 points) scored all 22 of their points after the break to lead Illinois to a 77-67 win and move them solidly into the top tier of the Big Ten at 6-1 and 15-3 overall.

It wasn’t easy though. Minnesota led by as many as 6 points late in the first half before largely unused guard Mihailo Petrovic gave Illinois a spark that would let Illinois tie it at 38 at the half. From there, Illinois would lead by as many as 12 points and cruise to the win down the stretch.

Here’s a quick look back.

These 3 Things

Bench Win -

By IlliniGuys Staff January 18, 2026 (Cover photo courtesy […]

A knee injury forced Illinois second-leading scorer Gretchen Dolan out of action earlier this week but Illini second-year head coach Shauna Green classified the injury as “day to day”.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

January 18, 2026

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Day to day.

These are the words Illinois head coach Shauna Green choose to use to describe the knee injury to her second-leading scorer. Gretchen Dolan is listed as out for today’s home contest against Northwestern (2 p.m., Big Ten Network-Plus) and this loss will certainly impact the playing rotation of the No. 25 Illini (14-4, 4-3 in Big Ten) in this contest against a struggling Wildcats team and future games as Illinois nears the midpoint of the league schedule.

“It’s her knee but we’ll see how it goes,” Green said after a loss to No. 8 Michigan on Thursday night. “Day to day.”

Former Memphis and Bowling Green defensive end Isaiah Thomison hopes being paired with Illinois defensive line coach Terrance Jamison sparks career-best collegiate season.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

January 17, 2026

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois continues to find developmental defensive line pieces out of the transfer portal.

Isaiah Thomison, a 6-foot-3, 280-pound defensive end has high hopes that Illinois being his third program in the last three seasons will produce his career-best numbers for the 2026 season. Thomison has signed a deal to play next season on the Illinois roster after playing 10 games for Bowling Green last year. 247Sports.com was the first to report this signing on Saturday afternoon.

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

January 17, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois Fighting Illini football team hosted a group of recruits from the 2027 class as part of its Junior Day. IlliniGuys spoke to a few of them, including quarterback commit Kamden Lopati, who has been committed to the program since July of last year.

Initially, the Illini beat out the likes of Oregon, Washington, Arizona State, and Purdue to secure a commitment from Lopati. In recent weeks, Lopati’s name has become a hot one for many schools, with Colorado, Stanford, UCF, and Stanford offering him. Most notably, Tennessee offered Lopati in the shadow of Illinois’ Music City Bowl showdown against the Volunteers.

Illinois used bench play and a stifling defensive effort […]

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

January 17, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Pickrell/IlliniGuys)

The Illini are coming off of a four-game road win streak, including wins at Iowa and Northwestern, and they are coming home to play Minnesota in an 11AM tip game. What could go wrong? As we know, much has gone wrong in these situations in the past. Minnesota presents a formidable challenge and the Illini will need to bring their ‘A’ game to get the win on Saturday.

Here's a look at the particulars...

Setting the Stage
#13 Illinois (14-3, 5-1 B1G) vs. Minnesota (10-7, 3-3 B1G)
Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026 // 11 a.m. CT // Champaign, Ill. // State Farm Center
TV: BTN – Jack Kizer (Play-by-Play) & Jess Settles (Analyst)
Radio: Busey Bank Illini Sports Network – Brian Barnhart (Play-By-Play) & Deon Thomas

Notable
No. 13 Illinois, riding a season-best six-game win streak, hosts Minnesota on Saturday at State Farm Center. Illinois is in search of the program's first seven-game win streak since March 2024, a stretch that began with the regular-season finale at Iowa and included the 2024 Big Ten Tournament Championship and run to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.

*At 14-3 overall, Illinois is off to its best start since 2012-13. A win over Minnesota would give the Illini its best 18-game record since also starting 15-3 in 2011-12.

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

January 16, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

The Fighting Illini are known for their international connections and bringing in the top players around the country, but they have focused on a strong 2027 class in the state of Illinois to add another big-time player into the fold in 2027 guard Mason Martin. 

Martin joins wing Quinton Kitt in what will be a foundational class for the Illini in 2027. Martin led all circuits in 3-point shooting on the move last summer and is known for his deep range and quick release.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

January 16, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Kedric Prince/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Friday marks the final official day of the NCAA transfer portal window, and while needs remain that many would like to see addressed, Illinois football’s focus this weekend extends beyond portal movement.

The Illini are set to host a number of high school prospects as part of their Junior Day efforts, a crucial step as the program looks to strengthen its recruiting pipeline and build long-term relationships.

We were able to confirm a few players planning to be on campus this weekend. As more information becomes available, updates will be posted on the football message board.

Illinois defensive back Xavier Scott, who was a first-team All Big Ten selection in 2024, has elected to return to the Illini after suffering a devestating ankle injury three games into the 2025 season.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

January 15, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The sight of Xavier Scott’s season-ending injury just three games into the 2025 campaign will not be his memory in an Illinois uniform.

Scott has announced his decision to, for the second time in his Illini tenure, pass on the National Football League Draft in exchange of returning to Illinois for one more season - which will be his fifth year of college football.

The 2025 season seemed destined to be Scott’s final one in college football as he was returning to the Illini after being a 2024 All-Big Ten Conference first-team selection by the media and a 2024 Phil Steele All-America honorable mention honoree. However, a severe ankle injury in the fourth quarter of the third game of the 2025 season, a 38-0 victory over eventual Mid-American Conference champion Western Michigan, left open the possibility of Scott returning for another season.

By IlliniGuys Staff January 15, 2026 (Cover photo courtesy […]