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Nothing official yet, but it sounds like Harper will not be available against Illinois.

High ankle sprain. He has missed the last two games

Illinois had a very tough first 8 games on the league slate (in contrast to, say, MSU, which has a brutal back half). The 3-2 road record with 4 games against credible opposition (Oregon/MSU/IU/NW) is solid, the 2-1 home record is a bit disappointing as it took a major letdown performance to eat a loss (the Wisky win is good tho).

However, the next 7 games are all games in which Illinois will be favored. The two trickiest are the at Nebby and at Rutgers games. I actually watched those two teams play last week, and frankly Rutgers - despite its much lesser performance - might be the tougher of the two games, particularly as Ace Bailey is really good and Rutgers is pretty athletic (Nebraska looked awful marginal in terms of athletes to me).

Win the next 7, and 5-3 in the league becomes 12-3 and puts Illinois squarely in the Top 3 seed situation, with a shot at a 2 seed.

One aside to go along with this, the CBB regular season doesn't do it for me like it used to. Illinois hoops used to be appointment viewing. Now, it just seems like a great win or a tough loss is only meaningful in the way it impacts your seeding. But even then, you can get a good seed with a terrible draw and a middling seed with a great draw. Feels like CBB has to figure something out about this. Personally, I'd start by only using the Committee to select the entrants, and then have a computer program that weights things like NET, Pom, and Torvik more heavily in seeding select the bracket. That would get a much fairer tournament bracket.

Tre White from Illinois and Dylan Harper from Rutgers both listed as QUESTIONABLE on the Big Ten availability report.

Rutgers people who I talked to said they would be surprised if Harper plays.

Retired Illinois Sports Information Director Kent Brown has a new book out.

You can order it on Amazon here: 100 Things Illinois Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die

With traditions, records, and lore, this lively, detailed book explores the personalities, events, and facts every University of Illinois sports fan should know. It contains essential information such as historic dates, behind-the-scenes tales, memorable moments, and Champaign landmarks. Featuring legendary figures spanning eras, this is the ultimate resource guide for students, alumni, and fans in the know.

Rivals is rolling out new positions like defensive end (DE), edge defender (EDGE), interior offensive lineman (IOL), linebacker (LB), quarterback (QB), nickel (NICK), slot (SLOT), and specialist (SPEC).

Prospects will no longer be designated as an outside linebacker (OLB), inside linebacker (ILB), strongside defensive end (SDE), weakside defensive end (WDE), center (OC), guard (OG), fullback (FB), pro-style quarterback (PQB), dual-threat quarterback (DQB), or kicker (K).

With this change, the rankings and prospect position designations for players prior to the 2026 recruiting class will remain unaltered.

Full list of new positions:

QB
RB
APB
WR
SLOT
TE
OT
IOL
DT
DE
EDGE
LB
CB
NICK
S
ATH
SPEC

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Visit has been set. It’ll be April 11-13. Anderson has also set his Auburn OV for May 30.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fighting Illini fifth year Kendall Bostic has been named to the Women’s College All-Star Game Watch List presented by Herbalife. The Kokomo, Ind., native was one of 68 players appearing on the watch list that represented 51 different programs and 15 conferences.

Bostic is averaging 16.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 34.5 minutes per game across her final year of collegiate basketball. She has started 115 consecutive games since transferring to Illinois ahead of her sophomore season and now holds the program’s career rebounding record. Bostic is shooting 53% from the field, 30.4% from 3-point range, and 87.5% from the free throw line this season. She owns 49 career double-doubles, all coming with the Orange and Blue. The same day Bostic broke Illinois’ program rebounding record, she moved into third place on the Big Ten’s all-time boards list.

So far, in her final campaign, Bostic has earned Big Ten Player of the Week, AP Player of the Week Honorable Mention, Her Hoops Stats Midseason First Team All-Big Ten, and McClain Power Forward Watch List honors.

The 2025 Women’s College All-Star Game will feature the top senior standouts. Of the more than 60 players that appear on the watch list, 20 will ultimately be selected to participate in the event on Saturday, April 5, in Tampa. The game will tip at 3 p.m. ET and air on ESPN2.

The complete watch list can be found on the event’s website at www.womenscollegeallstar.com. The final event roster will be announced the week of the event. Participants in the Women’s College All-Star Game will be players that have exhausted or will for forego their remaining eligibility.

Last April, 20 of college basketball’s top senior standouts converged in Cleveland to rekindle the postseason event that Intersport helped originally launch in 1998.

Right now we are 15-7
Quad 1: 6-6
Quad 2: 3-1
no Quad 3
Quad 4: 6-0

We have 9 more regular season games:

@Rutgers: Quad 2 (barely)
@Minnesota: Quad 2
vs. UCLA: Quad 1
vs. Mich St: Quad 1
@Wisconsin: Quad 1
(N) Duke: Quad 1
vs. Iowa: Quad 2
@ Michigan: Quad 1
vs. Purdue: Quad 1

So 31 regular season matchups:
18 Quad 1
7 Quad 2
0 Quad 3!!!
6 Quad 4

Some of these edge cases might fluctuate, but that's a loaded schedule. The home/away splits in the Big Ten just about maximize our number of Quad 1 games. It makes it very tough to win the conference but it's going to do wonders for our seeding.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.– Illinois forward Will Riley is Big Ten Freshman of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.

• Riley led the Illini in a pair of games last week, averaging 20.0 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 52% from the field, including 45.5% from 3-point range.
• Scored team-high 24 points in the comeback win over Ohio State, making 7-9 shots and a career-high nine free throws on 12 attempts, along with three rebounds.
• His 24 points tie the most by a freshman off the bench in a conference game this season.
• Scored 20 of his 24 in the second half, as Illinois overcame an 11-point deficit against the Buckeyes to storm back for the win.
• Opened the week with 16 points while knocking a game-high four 3-pointers and had four rebounds at Nebraska.
• Scored 13 consecutive points for the Illini during the second-half comeback in Lincoln, helping push the game into overtime.

Riley earns his second Big Ten Freshman of the Week award to go along with recognition following the opening week of the season when he broke the Illini freshman debut scoring record with 31 points vs. Eastern Illinois.

No. 23 Illinois is back in action Wednesday night, playing at Rutgers (7:30 p.m. CT, BTN).

Knocked off #14 Maryland on the road playing basically 6 players. Incredible coaching job by Coach Green.

Want to know how important the QB is in College Football; ESPN has four Michigan players in the first round. The difference between 7&5 and 10&2 is QB competency. Bryant looks like a third round steal for somebody.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis is on the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association announced on Monday.

Jakucionis is having a standout freshman campaign for the Fighting Illini. He is averaging 15.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists on the season, shooting 47% from the field, 35% from 3-point range, and 83.5% from the foul line. A two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week honoree, Jakucionis has eight 20-point games, tying the UI freshman season record.

Members of the USBWA's board of directors chose the 50 players that will be considered as contenders for the National Player of the Year. The following is the complete watch list:

• Jaden Akins, Michigan State
• Ace Bailey, Rutgers
• Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
• Nate Bittle, Oregon
• Johni Broome, Auburn
• Lamont Butler, Kentucky
• Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
• Donovan Dent, New Mexico
• Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
• Eric Dixon, Villanova
• Cooper Flagg, Duke
• Keshon Gilbert, Iowa State
• Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Maryland
• PJ Haggerty, Memphis
• Dylan Harper, Rutgers
• Chucky Hepburn, Louisville
• Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State
• Chase Hunter, Clemson
• Graham Ike, Gonzaga
• Ian Jackson, North Carolina
• Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois
• Curtis Jones, Iowa State
• Kam Jones, Marquette
• Alex Karaban, UConn
• Trey Kauffman-Renn, Purdue
• Kon Knueppel, Duke
• Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
• Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB
• Caleb Love, Arizona
• RJ Luis, St. John's
• Nick Martinelli, Northwestern
• Jamal Mashburn Jr., Temple
• Trent McLaughlin, Northern Arizona
• Jacksen Moni, North Dakota State
• Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina
• Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
• Asa Newell, Georgia
• Norchad Omier, Baylor
• Otega Oweh, Kentucky
• Zhuric Phelps, Texas A&M
• Maxime Raynuad, Stanford
• Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest
• Mark Sears, Alabama
• Emanuel Sharp, Houston
• Javon Small, West Virginia
• Braden Smith, Purdue
• John Tonje, Wisconsin
• Darrion Williams, Texas Tech
• Danny Wolf, Michigan
• Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee

The Oscar Robertson Trophy winner will be announced at the NCAA Men's Final Four in San Antonio, from April 5-7. The formal presentation of the trophy will follow at the annual USBWA Awards Luncheon hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis. A final watch list will be released in early March and those chosen will be included on the USBWA's annual awards ballot.

Illini hand on in the rankings checking in at No. 23

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – For the third time in her career, Genesis Bryant has earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors, the conference office announced Monday. Putting together three phenomenal performances in Illinois' 3-0 week, Bryant led the Fighting Illini to two road wins in addition to the program's first-ever win over Maryland – marking Illinois' third win over an AP Top-25 ranked team this season.

Bryant averaged 20.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.33 assists, 0.67 steals, 36.6 minutes, and a 1.17 assist-turnover ratio across the 3-0 week. She shot 44.4% (20-for-45) from the field, 55.6% (10-for-18) from 3-point range, and 91.7% from the free throw line.

The Jonesboro, Georgia, native posted 36.6 minutes per game across the three victories, playing all 45 minutes in Illinois' overtime win over Rutgers and all 40 in the Illini's road triumph against No. 14 Maryland, the program's first-ever victory against the Terrapins.

Tallying only 25 minutes in Illinois' 74-38 win against Purdue, Bryant started her impressive week by recording 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting and 3-for-3 on 3-point attempts against the Boilermakers despite sitting out for the entirety of the fourth quarter.

She then secured a game-high 28 points in the Illini's 69-65 overtime road win over Rutgers while being the lone student-athlete to play all 45 minutes in the contest. Bryant outscored the Scarlet Knights herself, 14-12, in the fourth quarter, to send the game to overtime. She then made three clutch free throws in the overtime period to give Illinois the lead for good and finished with a season-best five 3-pointers.

Bryant saved the best for last, though, scoring 20 points and making the game-winning free throws in Illinois' 66-65 road victory over the No. 14 Terrapins. With no timeouts, down by one with the length of the court to go, and just 14 seconds on the clock, Bryant put the team on her back and drove to the basket. She drew a foul with six seconds left and sank both free throws with the XFINITY Center's 8,068 Senior Day fans on their feet and at their loudest of the day. Illinois would get a defensive stop at the other end to secure its fourth-straight Big Ten road win.

The fifth-year guard knocked down two 3-pointers against the Terps and went 6-for-6 from the free throw line, including the two makes that sealed the win.

Across the week, Bryant posted her sixth and seventh 20-point outings of the season, and she has now scored in double figures 16 times and in each of her last four appearances.

Bryant was named the Big Ten Player of the Week for the first time since doing so in back-to-back weeks during the 2022-23 season (Dec. 27, 2022, and Jan. 2, 2023). She is the second Illini to earn Big Ten Player of the Week status this season, joining fifth-year forward Kendall Bostic, who earned the accolade on Nov. 25.

The weekly conference recognition was shared between Bryant and Iowa's Lucy Olsen.