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Illinois head coach Bret Bielema confirms All-Big Ten defensive back Matthew Bailey will not be active for the Music City Bowl game after having surgery immediately following the regular season.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

December 13, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Add Matthew Bailey to the list of the Illinois players who will not be participating in the upcoming Music City Bowl game.

Approximately an hour before the opening tip of the Illinois men’s basketball conference home opener versus Nebraska, Illinois head football coach Bret Bielema confirmed Saturday in his local media conference inside State Farm Center that Bailey will not be part of the Music City Bowl roster. Bielema detailed that Bailey elected to have surgery a few days after the regular season finale win over Northwestern to repair an upper body injury sustained in the middle of the 2025 campaign.

Since the Illini’s 42-25 loss at Washington, Bailey has been seen wearing a cast/club on his right hand but Bielema said the injury was “from something prior to this year” despite the fourth-year safety was never added to the conference-mandated availability report due to the injury.

“Last season we had seven postseason shoulder surgeries and this year there has been one already,” Bielema said Saturday referencing Bailey’s surgery last month was on his shoulder.

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema confirms on ‘Illini Pella […]

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

December 13, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Pickrell/IlliniGuys)

When the schedule came out this looked like just another game. Now, the Illini & Huskers are both ranked. The Illini are 1-0 in the Big 10 after a road win at Ohio State and Nebraska dismantled Wisconsin this week in Lincoln. These are two teams that can really score and should be a fun one on a snowy Saturday afternoon in Champaign.

Setting the Stage
#13 Illinois (8-2, 1-0) vs. #23 Nebraska (10-0, 1-0)
Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025 // 3 p.m. CT // Champaign, Ill. // State Farm Center Stream:
Peacock – Paul Burmeister (Play-by-Play) & Brendan Haywood (Analyst)
Radio: Busey Bank Illini Sports Network – Brian Barnhart (Play-By-Play) & Trent Meacham

Notable
* No. 13 Illinois closes out the early-December window of Big Ten play on Saturday afternoon, welcoming No. 23 Nebraska to State Farm Center for the Illini's first home game in nearly three weeks. The matchup pits the 8-2 Illini against the undefeated Cornhuskers (10-0). • Illinois is aiming for a 2-0 start to Big Ten play for the third time of head coach Brad Underwood's nine-year tenure, joining the 2022 and 2024 seasons.

*Illinois is 6-0 at State Farm Center on the season, having won each home game with an average scoring margin of +30.0. The Illini have won eight straight home games overall dating back to last season.

*Brad Underwood has led Illinois to 29 wins over top-25 opponents since 2019-20, with 20 of those wins coming in ranked-vs.-ranked matchups. Illinois' 29 top-25 victories are tied for ninth-most in the NCAA during that span. This season the Illini have ranked wins over No. 11 Texas Tech at home, and vs. No. 13 Tennessee in Nashville.

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood still isn’t optimistic the physical progress Ty Rodgers has made since suffering a major knee injury could result in his return to games this season.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

December 13, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — There is clearly a good news, bad news correlation when evaluating a potential return to the Illinois lineup for Ty Rodgers.

The encouraging news for the folks who work inside the Ubben Basketball Complex is Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said he had a discussion Thursday with staff members and medical officials about what a 2025-26 season return for Rodgers would look like. The disheartening news is Underwood didn’t portray getting an optimistic viewpoint in that discussion.

In his local media session Friday, Underwood declined to put a timeline on when the fourth-year wing could or even would get medically cleared to return with the No. 13 Illinois having just 21 regular season games left in the 2025-26 slate.

“He's getting closer to being able to gain enough strength in the leg.

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Illinois outside linebacker Gabe Jacas ends his collegiate career […]

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

December 12, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The state of Florida continues to be a reliable recruiting pipeline for Illinois football, producing a steady flow of talent that has helped shape the program’s future. One of the additions is Kenyon Alston, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound wide receiver from Bishop Moore Catholic High School in Orlando. Alston is fully committed to joining his future teammates and his future school as early as January.

We spoke with Alston about signing day, his goals, and what drew him to Illinois.

By Larry Smith -- IlliniGuys Co-Host & Executive Producer, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

December 10, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Last season, ESPN in-game and studio announcers said "Cooper Flagg" so often that you wouldn't blame someone if they thought the phenomenal Duke freshman's last name was "Cooperflagg". As if his stellar play wasn't enough, the Worldwide Leader - as it often does with Duke freshmen - played a big role in making him a household name. Remember Zion Williamson?

They're doing it again with this year's crop of ballyhooed high school recruits now playing at the next level. Saturday night, ESPN game analyst Jimmy Dykes crowed out "Cam Boozer" twice in the waning moments of the broadcast. Problem is...it was Illinois against Tennessee. Boozer's Duke team wasn't even playing in front of Dykes.

As we are just a third of the way into this college basketball season, prepare to hear Boozer's name evoked often. And BYU's AJ Dybantsa. And UNC's precocious star Caleb Wilson. And Arizona's Koa Peat. All for good reason; those four are among an elite group of seven college freshmen who are averaging at least 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists per game.

What you won't hear on ESPN?  Two of them play for Illinois, the only college basketball program with two superstar rookies.

While acknowledging assistant coaches could be poached by other programs, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema says he won’t force change before the bowl game.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

December 11, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Illinois coaching staff will remain completely intact throughout the two-week preparation for the Music City Bowl game.

Illinois fifth-year head coach Bret Bielema confirmed he didn’t anticipate making changes to his coaching staff before the completion of the postseason game against Tennessee on Dec. 30 (4:30 p.m. CST, ESPN) in Nashville. In the on-campus Music City Bowl media conference inside the Smith Family Football Complex in Champaign, Bielema declined to confirm if he’d be forcing change to his coaching staff for the upcoming 2026 season but the Illini head coach seemed more concerned on members of his coaching staff being poached this month as the carousel of head coaching changes in the sport could result in Illini staff members being pursued by recent openings.

“I haven't really had many conversations with our staff," Bielema said on Sunday. “I just know that when you hire good coaches, people that there's going to be things that happen.

Illinois holds Missouri under 70 points and sees star […]

At Villanova, Maddie Webber was a scoring machine and […]

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

December 10, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

The Illini opened the Big Ten season with a 88-80 win over a feisty Ohio State Buckeyes team that came in seven and one. Freshmen Keaton Wagler and David Mirkovic scored 23 and 22 points, and Andrej Stojakovic added 17 as the Illini moved to 8-2 and 1-0 in Big Ten play.

The first half was a free-flowing offensive showcase, and the second half morphed into a foul fest that featured 48 fouls. This was the type of win that a year ago you wonder if the Illini would have been able to pull this out, but their depth and toughness showed through and they were able to pull out the road win in their first true road game of the season.

Here's a rewind:

These 3 Things

Freshmen Lead the Way - The play of Keaton Wagler and David Mirkovic was incredible in their first Big Ten road game Tuesday night.

By Kedric Prince - Sr. Recruiting Analyst December 10 […]

By IlliniGuys Staff December 9, 2025 (Cover photo courtesy […]

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

December 9, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy FIBA)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Illinois men’s basketball program is rolling into December with momentum after a big 75-62 win over Tennessee at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

That surge off the court is matching what’s happening on it. Rumblings continue to circulate around Lithuanian standout Dovydas Buika, a 6-foot-6, 190-pound combo guard whose wing scoring ability has made him one of the most intriguing international prospects in the 2026 class. According to Rivals.com and On3, Buika is rated a four-star recruit, and his recruitment appears to be tightening into a two-team contest between Illinois and Arizona.