4+ mon, 3+ week ago (299+ words) Illinois coach Brad Underwood, one of the top recruiters in college basketball, has made a habit of building rosters stacked with talent in Champaign. Often, he seems focused less on player fit and more on securing the best his recruiters can muster, then figuring out the rest later " a method that appears to have served him well. Still, there's only one ball to go around, and that can cause issues for a squad full of ball-dominant players. Certainly Kasparas Jakucionis, and arguably both Kylan Boswell and Will Riley, were most effective with the rock in their hands last season, meaning the offensive end could become problematic at times when the trio shared the court. As for 2025-26, things should flow a bit smoother. Boswell, international pickup Mihailo Petrovic and Cal transfer Andrej Stojakovic are all most effective with the ball on…...

3+ week, 2+ day ago (523+ words) LINCOLN'While Illinois dressed two liberos, Laney Choboy covered enough court for two players." In the second set, Choboy recorded an ace to prompt the media timeout. When the teams returned to the court, the Husker libero made a diving pancake save on Illinois" first swing. After another dig, Tereya Sigler"s back row attack was rejected, and Choboy fully laid out facing the end line, punching the ball straight up. Bergen Reilly set the ball to Harper Murray, who recorded a kill." Choboy finished with 20 digs, two aces and three assists to lead the top-ranked Huskers in a 25-11, 25-15, 25-14 sweep over Illinois Thursday night at John Cook Arena." For as good as Choboy was on defense, NU"s offense was equally impressive. Ten different players recorded a kill, led by junior middle blocker Andi Jackson, who terminated on all nine of…...

10+ mon, 5+ hour ago (375+ words) Day and time: Thursday (Jan. 30) at 7:30 p.m. CTVenue: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, NebraskaTV: FS1Stream: foxsports.com/live/fs1 | FOX Sports appListen: WDWS-AM 1400 (Champaign)WLS-AM 890 (Chicago)Illini Sports Network affiliates (other local markets)Varsity Network appSiriusXM 372SXM App 372 Illinois vs. Nebraska all time: Illinois leads the series 22-8Streak: Illinois has won one in a row against NebraskaLast meeting: Illinois 98, Nebraska 87, (Mar. 16, 2024, Minneapolis, Minnesota) Probable Illinois starters:G Kasparas Jakucionis G Kylan BoswellG Tre White F Ben HumrichousC Morez Johnson Jr. Nebraska isn't the most dynamic three-point shooting team, but the combination of guard Connor Essegian and wing Brice Williams gives the Cornhuskers long-distance weapons that must be accounted for. The pair have knocked down a combined 83 triples, with 51 coming from Essegian and 32 from Williams. Essegian " a Wisconsin transfer " is knocking down 2.6 threes per game (despite playing only 22.7 minutes per game) and at quite the efficient rate…...

11+ mon, 2+ week ago (521+ words) Call it a disappointment or call it a learning lesson, but Illinois' 70-66 overtime loss to Northwestern in Evanston last Friday was, without question, a missed opportunity. Leading through almost the entirety of regulation, the Illini (6-2, 0-1) had a chance to notch their first Big Ten win and build toward the best current version of themselves in anticipation of a showdown with new national No. 1 Tennessee on Saturday. First, they'll try to bounce back against Wisconsin on Tuesday (8 p.m. CT, on Peacock). Until then, all that can be done is to take stock and, of course, hand out individual grades: Ivisic was his typically productive self (15 points, 12 rebounds and five assists) while playing with impressive efficiency. The only beef? Illinois needed even more from him, and Ivisic seemed a little too content to go with the flow. In moments like Friday in Evanston,…...

8+ mon, 3+ week ago (200+ words) Despite getting carved up all night long by Purdue's (21-10, 13-7 Big Ten) pick-and-roll savant Braden Smith and his partner in crime Trey Kaufman-Renn, Ilinois (20-11, 12-8 Big Ten) had just enough in the tank to battle back and pull out an 88-80 win. Led by 22 points from Will Riley and 20 from Tre White, Illinois poured in 48 second-half points in Friday night's shootout to stave off the visitors. Aside from those important figures, here are three key numbers from the Illini's regular-season finale victory: Having recorded 20 or more assists in just one game since the turn of the new year, the Illini have now dished out 20 dimes as a team in back-to-back contests. On Friday night, Illinois was led by point guard Kasparas Jakucionis' seven assists (only two turnovers) and five from backcourt running mate Kylan Boswell. The Illini, executing perfectly timed cuts to the…...

9+ mon, 2+ week ago (406+ words) After Illinois freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis hung on through a rough four-game patch in which he averaged 11.0 points and 4.0 turnovers while shooting 36.6 percent from the field, he has quickly ... After Illinois freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis hung on through a rough four-game patch in which he averaged 11.0 points and 4.0 turnovers while shooting 36.6 percent from the field, he has quickly bounced back " a resurgence just in time for him to take on more midseason honors. Having seemingly shaken the freshman slump out of his system, Jakucionis posted back-to-back 24-point games (each on 8-for-14 field-goal shooting) in wins over Minnesota and UCLA. Then, in more good news for the projected lottery pick, it was announced on Friday that Jakucionis has been named to the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Midseason Team " an honor awarded to just 30 men's college basketball players in the…...

10+ mon, 3+ week ago (340+ words) Illinois, the highest-ranked of six Big Ten teams to begin the New Year in the poll, has returned to Champaign to host consecutive games against unranked Penn State on Wednesday (9 p.m. ET, on Big Ten ... Illinois (11-3, 3-1 Big Ten) was rewarded for its efforts in back-to-back road wins against No. 9 Oregon and Washington last week in the form of a nine-spot leap, to No. 13, in Monday's AP poll. Illinois, the highest-ranked of six Big Ten teams to begin the New Year in the poll, has returned to Champaign to host consecutive games against unranked Penn State on Wednesday (9 p.m. ET, on Big Ten Network) and Pac-12-turned-Big Ten counterpart USC on Saturday (noon ET, on BTN). Illini coach Brad Underwood was pleased with his team's efforts in Eugene and Seattle, especially factoring in a hostile environment where Illinois had to fend off a…...

11+ mon, 4+ week ago (446+ words) Now we have our answer. While sharing responsibilities running the Illini offense (six assists) and finding room to spark his own (18 points), Boswell also put on another defensive clinic, doing most of the heavy lifting in holding Razorbacks freshman guard Boogie Fland to eight points on 2-for-12 shooting. Even if Boswell's 3-point stroke never comes around, he'll be in the running for Illinois' unofficial team MVP. Jakucionis continues to show that he's anything but the typical freshman point guard, striking a harmonious balance between creating offense for his teammates and himself (23 points and four assists) against a quality opponent in Arkansas. His handle can get too loose (six turnovers), but the occasional freshman mistakes are the cost of doing business when offensive brilliance is the payoff. Humrichous has been Illinois' metronome this season, spotting up and knocking down shots beyond…...

10+ mon, 3+ week ago (400+ words) The Illini are going full bore and running up scores against elite competition as they enter Sunday's tilt at Washington ... No. 22 Illinois (10-3, 2-1 Big Ten) at Washington (10-4, 1-2 Big Ten) Day and time: Sunday (Jan. 5) at 3 p.m. CT The journey out west continues. Washington " like Illinois " makes a point of chasing opponents off the three-point line and minimizing damage from behind the arc. The Huskies' three-point percentage allowed (29.6) ranks a respectable 51st among 355 Division I teams, and their diligent patrolling of the perimeter was their primary leverage in a 75-69 upset of Maryland in their most recent outing. The Illini are coming off a smoldering 16-for-29 (55.2 percent) showing in their own upset win, on the road against No. 9 Oregon " but they are by no means out of the skewed-shooting woods. It took a home matchup against winless Chicago State for Illinois to turn around a…...

10+ mon, 1+ week ago (361+ words) There's still more than half of the Big Ten basketball season remaining, but college hoops analyst Andy Katz believes the race for the conference's Player of the Year is down to just four candidates. In a recent edition of B1G Today on Big Ten Network, Katz said that he believes the winner of the Big Ten Player of the Year comes down to four guys: Braden Smith (Purdue), Vladislav Goldin (Michigan), Danny Wolf (Michigan) and Kasparas Jakucionis (Illinois). He also made a mention of Trey Kaufman-Renn (Purdue). "I really think it's going to come down to a four-person race " maybe that's not fair to Trey Kaufman-Renn," Katz said. "But I do think it's Braden Smith, the two Michigan guys and Jakucionis." Smith was selected as the Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year back in October. So far, he's lived up…...