1+ day, 7+ hour ago (190+ words) The Illinois high school football season was supposed to end on Saturday. But due to an expected snowstorm, that won't happen. The IHSA has postponed four state title games. The Class 8A, 7A, 6A and 5A championships were scheduled to be played Saturday at Illinois State University's Hancock Stadium. The four smallest classes had their finals played already. A postponement like this has never happened before in Illinois. MORE:A wild Texas HS football game ended at 1:43 a.m. Illinois State has shut its campus down on Saturday due to expected inclement weather, though, so teams and fans weren't allowed to come to town. MORE:Byron wins one of the craziest state finals in Illinois history The IHSA has announced that the Class 5A and 6A games will take place Tuesday at Illinois State. The 5A game between Providence and St. Francis will kick at 3 p.m., with Fenwick and East…...

7+ mon, 1+ week ago (372+ words) There's still one big name that Underwood and his staff are pushing hard to land: Andrej Stojakovic. He is set to visit Illinois on Tuesday, and with recent developments out of Lexington, he may be on ... The season for the Illinois basketball team may have been forgettable in some ways, but there's still plenty to be proud of. The Fighting Illini faced adversity throughout the year'dealing with injuries, illness, and other setbacks. Despite it all, they never gave up, catching fire at the end of the regular season. Illinois was eliminated in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by a well-rounded Kentucky team. Since then, the Fighting Illini have lost four players to the transfer portal, but they also landed big man Zvonimir Ivisic, who will now play alongside his brother. Head coach Brad Underwood has worked to assure…...

7+ mon, 4+ week ago (282+ words) It has been a tumultuous last few days for Illinois basketball. With freshman center Morez Johnson Jr. opting to leave Champaign via the transfer portal last Friday, the Fighting Illini may tab ... Morez Johnson Jr. linked to Big Ten team Illinois beat by 20 points on road in transfer portal It has been a tumultuous last few days for Illinois basketball. With freshman center Morez Johnson Jr. opting to leave Champaign via the transfer portal last Friday, the Fighting Illini may tab Johnson Jr. as public enemy No. 1 next season, depending on where he plays. According to CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein, Johnson Jr. winding up at a Big Ten rival of Illinois next season is more likely than not. Rothstein reported Monday morning Johnson Jr. had gotten intel from 17 different schools. These include seven Big Ten teams, six of which Illinois…...

7+ mon, 4+ week ago (263+ words) Sellers, a 6-foot-4, 192-pound combo guard according to 247 Sports, hails from Montgomery, Alabama and had previous stints at Ball State and Western Illinois before eventually transferring to UCF May ... Illinois may catch a lucky break with the transfer portal sooner than later. After three departures in three days, Brad Underwood's team is back at work attempting to reload for next season after losing in the Round of 32 to Kentucky last weekend. On3's Joe Tipton reported Saturday evening that senior transfer guard'Jaylin Sellers had revealed his top four schools, which included the Illini alongside Georgetown, Cincinnati and Providence. "The 6-4 senior appeared in only three games this season due to injury but averaged 15.9 PPG with UCF last season," Tipton wrote. Sellers also caught wind of Tipton's tweet, writing a short yet motivating message as he awaits his next step. Follow The Sporting…...

8+ mon, 21+ hour ago (979+ words) With the Illinois basketball program needing to make arguably aggressive moves to replace the likes of Carey Booth, Morez Johnson Jr. and Tre White, Meyers Leonard took to social media to share the turning point of his college basketball career during a far different era. NIL and the NCAA Transfer Portal have run rapidly across college basketball over the last few years, but this was not always prominent. Take former NBA center Meyers Leonard as a prime example. A homegrown Virginia-turned-Illinois product who committed to his hometown school in the early-2010s when it was commonplace to do so. Over a decade later, however, things have changed dramatically, for better or worse. Leonard's series of tweets uncovered what his relationship was like with then-coach Bruce Weber, how he nearly gave up on his college basketball dreams altogether and any parting words…...

8+ mon, 2+ week ago (342+ words) Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Illinois' 106-94 win over Iowa marked the team's fourth-straight win and second against the Hawkeyes in as many weeks to advance to the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals Friday night against Maryland (6:30 p.m. ET, BTN). Although Illinois lost to Maryland by 21 in Champaign in mid-January, coach Brad Underwood recognizes his team, which saw guard Tre White, center Tomislav'Ivisic, guard Kylan Boswell and forward Will Riley combine for 86 points, can become much more balanced. "I don't know," Underwood told reporters regarding Illinois' ceiling. "I think about that all the time. It's a great question. I think about what is that. I don't -- I think the shooting -- you know, we shot it better tonight. We've been shooting it pretty good. That's been the one thing. And we've cut our turnovers down a lot." Illinois committed just…...

8+ mon, 3+ week ago (313+ words) The Illinois Fighting Illini have regained their swagger with a win on Friday night, ending the regular season on a three-game winning streak after a rough stretch of three straight losses by a combined 78 points. The team has faced significant challenges over the last month and a half, but they've remained resilient and determined. Head coach Brad Underwood has made it clear that the Fighting Illini were plagued by injuries and illnesses until almost two weeks ago. Following that tough stretch, Underwood said his team could have quit, but they did the opposite, finding their rhythm at the perfect time. The decision-making from Illinois' young players on Friday night played a key role in securing the win. Their ability to remain focused under pressure demonstrated their growth and maturity as a team. As it stands, Illinois is the seventh-best team…...

10+ mon, 2+ day ago (325+ words) Philadelphia Eagles safety Sydney Brown is headed to his first Super Bowl after they won the NFC Championship game against the Washington Commanders Sunday, 55-23. The second-year former Illinois football standout has made vast strides since being selected 66th overall in the 2023 draft. This season, he has played in 14 games and forced two turnovers: a fumble and'an interception. He was also ejected in the second-to-last regular season game against the Dallas Cowboys in a viral altercation after shoving several players. Nevertheless, his former college coach, Bret Bielema, took a chance to show support for Brown. After succeeding Love Smith before the 2021 season began, Bielema coached Brown for the first two seasons of his Illinois tenure. "Congrats," Bielema wrote on 'X' Monday morning. Bielema has been highly complimentary of Brown and his twin brother, running back Chase Brown since the trio began devising…...

10+ mon, 1+ week ago (321+ words) Despite winning its first bowl game in over a decade, the first time under soon-to-be fifth-year coach Bret Bielema, CBS Sports analyst Josh Pate failed to include Illinois in his "unofficial" final ... Illinois QB Luke Altmyer needs no words to describe inclusion of SEC football team in 'unofficial' final poll Nearly a month removed from Illinois football's 21-17 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl win against South Carolina, national media pundits are still doing all they can to discredit the Fighting Illini's on-field accomplishments. Despite winning its first bowl game in over a decade, the first time under soon-to-be fifth-year coach Bret Bielema, CBS Sports analyst Josh Pate failed to include Illinois in his "unofficial" final poll to put a bow on the 2024-25 college football season. Instead, he included the Gamecocks, which got a reaction from former SEC-turned-Big Ten quarterback Luke Altmyer. Altmyer took…...

10+ mon, 1+ week ago (312+ words) It's not every week in the NFL that a throwback-style pick-6 occurs, but that's exactly what happened Saturday night during the NFL Divisional Round playoff game between the Washington Commanders and Detroit Lions. Just before halftime, former Illinois safety Jartavius "Quan" Martin had his shining moment at Ford Field with a highlight-reel touchdown to extend the Commanders then-lead to 24-14." The Commanders maintain a 17-point lead, 45-28, late in the fourth quarter. If Washington were to win, it would play the winner of the Philadelphia Eagles vs. Los Angeles Rams game in next weekend's NFC Championship. The spectacular sequence also perked up Martin's old coach, Bret Bielema. Bielema, the head coach of the Illinois Fighting Illini, coached Martin for his final two seasons before declaring for the NFL Draft. "I-L-L," Bielema tweeted in reaction to the play. The Commanders advanced to the…...