Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball News - Page 2

Like many former college basketball stars, Meyers Leonard is not a fan of how the game has changed. As a former lottery pick out of Illinois, Leonard reflected on how his career went and how he feels the college basketball transfer portal does not allow for many similar journeys. As the 2025 offseason once again […]

There’s no question that Illinois basketball was a very talented squad this season, but Brad Underwood and company didn’t quite meet expectations after bowing out in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in a blowout loss to Kentucky. One of the main reasons why Illinois found itself dropping a lot of regular season games […]

Illinois basketball will have a roster to remodel after its March Madness run under Brad Underwood. The Illini looks like they’ll lose talent to one-and-done decisions ahead of the NBA Draft. Forward Morez Johnson Jr. and guard Tre White are also in the college basketball transfer portal. Guards Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley are teetering […]

The Illinois basketball team saw its season come to an end last weekend in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Fighting Illini had a solid year as they earned a six-seed in the tournament, but they couldn’t get past Kentucky to make it to the second weekend. The season is over, and since […]

Brad Underwood and the No. 6 seed Illinois basketball are no longer in contention for the 2025 NCAA Tournament title after getting bounced out of the Big Dance by the No. 3 seed Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday in a second-round showdown at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. The early exit from the tourney meant that Illinois […]

After enduring a rough stretch to conclude the regular season, it appears that Illinois basketball is back to playing its game. Head coach Brad Underwood, and the Illini gave a quality showing against a hungry Xavier team on Friday, putting the wraps on a historic NCAA Tournament feat for the Big Ten. Underwood fielded questions […]

For years and years, the Big Ten has been known as one of the conferences that consistently comes up short in the NCAA Tournament.  However, that has not been the case this year. The conference absolutely steamrolled through the Round of 64 on Thursday and Friday, finishing with a perfect 8-0 record. Now, with eight […]

These are two of the hottest teams in the Big Ten, and both could use a win to increase their momentum and improve their seeding before the NCAA Tournament. It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with an Illinois-Maryland prediction and pick. Illinois is 21-11 this season and has won four straight games. […]

Illinois basketball ended one last Big Ten Tournament run for Payton Sandfort Thursday. The decorated Iowa forward left the game near the one minute mark of the second half, then became filled with emotions. Even the winning head coach Brad Underwood watched the emotional scene unfold. Underwood became the winning coach in the 106-94 victory, […]

Illinois basketball head coach Brad Underwood revealed how his team has grown from their blowout loss to Duke a few weeks ago. The Fighting Illini picked up another critical Big Ten win on Friday, this time over No. 18 Purdue. The 88-80 victory gave Illinois basketball its 20th of the year. Riding a three-game winning […]

Purdue head coach Matt Painter dropped a truth bomb about the Illinois Fighting Illini after their matchup on Friday. The Boilermakers initially held a 42-40 lead at halftime. However, the Fighting Illini responded strong in the last 20 minutes by outscoring their opponents 48-38 to secure the 88-80 victory. Painter reflected on the loss after […]

The Big Ten regular season comes to a close as Purdue faces Illinois. It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Purdue-Illinois prediction and pick. Purdue is 21-9 on the year, while sitting 12-6 in conference play, sitting third in the Big Ten. They opened the year winning eight of their first […]

It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with an Illinois-Michigan prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Illinois-Michigan. Sunday is a very big day — or should we say, a very “B1G” day — in college basketball. The Big Ten championship chase will take a few significant turns just before the finish […]

The Illinois Fighting Illini are fighting for their lives for a possible NCAA Tournament bid, although it’s looking increasingly unlikely barring an unforeseen run through the Big Ten Tournament. Illinois has two games remaining before the conference tournament, and head coach Brad Underwood believes they’ll be getting reinforcements soon. Underwood said that freshman forward Morez […]

The Illinois basketball team desperately needed a bounce-back win after getting blown out against Duke, and that’s exactly what they got. The Fighting Illini hosted Iowa on Tuesday night, and they finally looked back to normal as they cruised to an 81-61 win. Illinois came into this game having lost three games in a row, […]

It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with an Iowa-Illinois prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Iowa-Illinois. What a bloodbath it was in Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday night. Duke took a blowtorch to Illinois in a high-profile nonconference game in late February. Just a few weeks before […]

Illinois basketball made all kinds of brutal history in a 110-67 embarrassment against the No. 3 Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden. Not only did the Fighting Illini suffer their worst loss in program history on Saturday night, but stat guru Jared Berson reports “it’s the largest margin of defeat for the Big Ten in […]

Illinois basketball is spiraling, and Brad Underwood’s frustrations were evident after a historic 110-67 thrashing at the hands of Duke at Madison Square Garden. The Fighting Illini shot just 2-of-26 from 3-point range after missing their first 17 attempts from deep for the game. The 43-point loss is the worst in program history. Underwood simply […]

Illinois basketball coach Brad Underwood watched Saturday night as his team took the worst loss in program history. The Fighting Illini got shellacked by the Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden. Duke whipped Illinois 110-67. Duke shot better than 50 percent from three-point range. Blue Devils freshman star Cooper Flagg had his way in […]

It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Duke-Illinois prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Duke-Illinois. What a delicious game and moment this is, a made-for-television showcase in Madison Square Garden in New York. It is very rare to see two teams play a big nonconference game this late in […]

When former Illinois basketball player Terrence Shannon Jr had an unforgettable moment with his jersey retirement, head coach Brad Underwood reacted like many. Also, the Illinois AD called Shannon’s retirement ‘inexcusable.’ His jersey was presented to him as upside down. However, it didn’t seem to bother the former Fighting Illini forward in the slightest. Funny […]

The Big Ten conference slate hasn’t gone as Brad Underwood and Illinois basketball would have hoped, and that unfortunate trend continued on Tuesday night. With a chance to bolster their NCAA Tournament resume and move up in the conference standings, Illinois got crushed 95-74 on the road by No. 11 Wisconsin. The game stayed fairly […]

The Illinois basketball team lost a heartbreaker over the weekend against Michigan State, and to make matters worse, they lost freshman forward Morez Johnson Jr. to an injury in the process. Johnson Jr. injured his wrist as he fell to the floor after blocking a shot in the loss against the Spartans. Fighting Illini head […]

Illinois basketball was firing on all cylinders for the first 11 minutes of Saturday’s showdown against No. 11 Michigan State, running out to a 16-point lead while sending the State Farm Center into a frenzy. But the Spartans clawed back and then took full control of the game down the stretch, with the Fighting Illini […]

Despite an excellent first half, Illinois basketball completely fell flat in the second half in a 79-65 loss to No. 11 Michigan State on Saturday night. The Illini showcased the talent that makes them one of the most dangerous teams in college basketball, but they also showed why they have been a very frustrating and […]

The Illinois basketball program did not have a great evening on Saturday at State Farm Center. Illinois basketball received its ninth defeat of the season in a 79-65 loss against Michigan State that saw Spartans coach Tom Izzo achieve a career milestone. To add insult to injury, Illinois’ jersey retirement ceremony also did not go […]

We’re back with yet another betting prediction and pick for this College Basketball slate as this next matchup takes us to the Big Ten Conference for a meeting between two top teams. The No. 11 Michigan State Spartans (19-5, 10-3 Big Ten) will visit the Illinois Fighting Illini (17-8, 9-6 Big Ten) in a can’t-miss tilt in the tight […]

Illinois basketball coach Brad Underwood wants the NCAA Tournament selection committee to understand his team’s situation. Underwood relayed a message to the committee after his team’s win Tuesday against UCLA. “You hope they recognize the fact we played five games without one of our two best players in most cases,” Underwood said, per Fox Illinois. […]

Two top half of the Big Ten teams face off as UCLA visits Illinois. It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a UCLA-Illinois prediction and pick. UCLA comes into the game at 18-6 on the year, and 9-4 in conference play. that places them in fourth in the Big Ten this year. […]

It’s crowded atop the Big Ten Conference this year, with Michigan State, Purdue, Michigan, UCLA and Wisconsin all within two games at the top of the standings, but look just a little bit further down and you’ll find a team from the Prairie State that firmly believes they’re every bit as good as any team in […]

It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with an Illinois-Minnesota prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Illinois-Minnesota. This is one of the more fascinating games you will find on a huge college basketball Saturday. A month ago, the conversation surrounding Illinois was how high the Illini’s NCAA Tournament seed was going […]

The college basketball season continues on Wednesday with a matchup between Illinois and Rutgers. It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with an Illinois-Rutgers prediction and pick. No. 23 Illinois (15-7) visits Rutgers (11-11) in a pivotal Big Ten clash at Jersey Mike’s Arena, where the Scarlet Knights are 8-3 this season. The […]

Illinois basketball coach Brad Underwood is known as an intense coach, but sometimes he does crack a smile. Underwood did just that on Sunday, ahead of a game against Ohio State. Underwood was all smiles because the team got Tomislav Ivisic back from an illness. “It puts a smile on my face to have him […]

It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with an Ohio State-Illinois prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Ohio State-Illinois. The Ohio State Buckeyes aren’t guaranteed to be in the NCAA Tournament, but right now, they are in the process of playing their way into the event, not out of it. Every […]

Brad Underwood was not happy with how the Illinois men’s basketball team lost in a stunning 80-74 overtime upset to the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Thursday night. Efficiency was an issue for the No. 18 Fighting Illini on offense. Despite beating the Cornhuskers on the glass 55-38, they were unable to convert on most of their […]

Nebraska looks to break a long losing streak as they face Illinois. It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with an Illinois-Nebraska prediction and pick. Illinois comes into the game at 14-6 on the year but sits tied for fifth in the Big Ten this year. They opened the year strong, starting the […]

Illinois basketball has had to deal with its fair share of adversity recently, and that hasn’t stopped this week. Brad Underwood and the Illini lost one of their best players when star center Tomislav Ivisic went down with mono, leaving Illinois without one of its most skilled players. After the diagnosis was announced, fans went […]

It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Northwestern-Illinois prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Northwestern-Illinois. The Northwestern Wildcats are on the wrong side of the bubble. They are in the bubble conversation but would not be in the NCAA Tournament if the season ended right now. The good news […]

The Illinois basketball team suffered an embarrassing loss at home on Thursday night against Maryland. Despite Illinois being ranked No. 17, the Illini lost 91-70 in a blowout game that got out of hand in the second half. Illinois trailed Maryland by three going into halftime, but the Illini were outscored 53-35 in the second […]