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By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

January 21, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois women’s basketball coach Shauna Green didn’t wait long to make history in her fourth year in Champaign.

Green landed the program’s first McDonald’s All-American since Chatrice White in 2014, securing a commitment from Pickerington, Ohio, native Berry Wallace, and early returns suggest the hype was warranted.

After making the move from Dayton to Illinois, Green kept close tabs on Wallace during her recruitment, selling her on a vision: be different, come to Illinois, and help lead the next era of the program. Wallace has done exactly that, emerging as one of the most productive players in the Big Ten and a cornerstone of Illinois’ strong start this season.

Wallace is now #4 in the Big Ten in scoring at 19.6 points per game while shooting 88% from the free-throw line. She has helped Illinois build a 15-4 overall record and a 5-3 mark in conference play, putting the Illini in position to contend weekly in one of the nation’s toughest leagues.

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

January 21, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

The Illini are back in action Wednesday evening against the Maryland Terrapins, and will once again be short-handed as senior guard Kylan Boswell will miss multiple games with a fractured hand. No one player will be able to replace Boswell, but the Illini are hoping that improved play from Andrej Stojakovic and guards Mihailo Petrovic and Brandon Lee can help the Illini navigate a difficult stretch that is coming up.

But first they have to beat a Maryland team that has been their nemesis. Brad Underwood is just 3-9 against the Terps. Here’s a look at the particulars.

Setting the Stage
#11 Illinois (15-3, 6-1 B1G) vs. Maryland (8-10, 1-6 B1G)
Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026 // 6 p.m. CT // Champaign, Ill. // State Farm Center
TV: BTN – Chris Vosters (Play-by-Play) & Jordan Taylor (Analyst)
Radio: Busey Bank Illini Sports Network – Brian Barnhart (Play-By-Play) & Deon Thomas

Notable
*No. 11 Illinois, riding a season-best seven-game win streak, hosts Maryland Wednesday night at State Farm Center. Illinois is in search of its first eight-game win streak since Brad Underwood's fourth season, when the Illini also won eight straight from Feb. 25-March 19, 2021. That streak – the program's longest of the Underwood era – began with four straight Big Ten wins to close the regular season (last three on the road) and continued with the 2021 Big Ten Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament first-round victory.

*At 15-3 overall, Illinois is off to its best start since 2011-12. A win over Maryland would give the Illini its best 19-game record since also starting 16-3 during the 2008-09 season. Illinois is 6-1 in Big Ten play, looking to improve to 7-1 for the first time in the Brad Underwood era. A win over Maryland would mark the Illini's best start to Big Ten play since the 2004-05 squad won its first 15 league games as part of 29-straight wins to open the season. The 2005 Illini swept the Big Ten regular season and Tournament titles and advanced to the Final Four, finishing as the NCAA runner-up with a 37-2 overall record.

Darrell Prater, a former four-year contributor from Jacksonville State, has elected to move up to a power conference program to compete for a starting role on Illinois’ defensive front in 2026.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

January 20, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The football coaching staff at the University of Illinois has again elected to dip into the talent pool of the Group of Six conferences for defensive line depth assistance.

Darrell Prater, a four-year defensive tackle at Jacksonville State, has signed an agreement to play his final year of collegiate eligibility at Illinois. Prater, a 6-foot-3 and 300-pound defensive lineman, is part of a massive reconstruction by Illini assistant coach Terrance Jamison and his boss, fifth-year head coach Bret Bielema, of the Illinois defensive front for the upcoming 2026 season.

Prater spent the 2025 season as a rotational defensive tackle piece in a 3-4 defensive scheme led by first-year head coach Charles Kelly, who served as a defensive coordinator at Florida State, Alabama, Colorado and Auburn before getting his first head coaching assignment at 57 years old.

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

January 20, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

With 3:12 remaining in the first half on Saturday morning, the Illini trailed Minnesota 32-26. The vaunted Illini offense had been stagnant, showing no signs of life, missing open shots and were heading towards another morning game debacle at home.

Brad Underwood then inserted little used, and previously much hyped, point guard Mihailo Petrovic to provide a spark, and he did not disappoint. In that final 3:12 he would score 4 points, set up Zvonimir Ivisic for 4 more, and lead Illinois on an 8-2 run to end the half in a 34 all tie. He even showed off his quickness on the defensive end, pressuring the ball and denying entry passes to the wing, fighting through screens.

"My hat's off to Mihailo [Petrovic]. We don't win the game without him. He changed the whole outlook of the game at the end of the first half.”

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

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 […]