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Two of the likeliest rumored destinations for Fields in a trade appear to have disappeared with Wilson to Pittsburgh and Cousins to Atlanta. That last one was the odds on favorite landing spot for Justin. His trade value may be slipping.not that that will deter the Bears from picking Caleb Williams. Poles recently traded his fifth round pick to Buffalo so the draft could be less entertaining this year. Expect Poles to go free agent shopping instead perhaps?

THREE REASONS WHY ILLINOIS WILL MAKE A DEEP RUN IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

1. Two-headed monster

Nearly every team that makes a deep run in the tournament has a go-to, star player; a dude who can go get you a bucket when you need it. Well, Illinois has two, and their complimentary skill sets are a challenge for opposing defenses.

Illinois can play and win at multiple speeds, so their success or failure in the tournament won’t be as dependent on matchups as in previous years. If Illinois can speed teams up, Terrence Shannon Jr. is a freight train in the open court. If they slow it down, Marcus Domask can back smaller defenders down and score in the paint.

2. The choke factor

Tournament experience is very valuable in March Madness. It’s usually on its second try that an upstart team makes its run, rather than the first go around. Young players play more than ever in college basketball, but the stage still becomes too big at times.

Shannon and Coleman Hawkins have been-there-done-that. And while Domask and Guerrier haven’t played in the NCAA Tournament, they have both been around the block a few times. This team won’t lay an egg. They are wise enough to know not to change from what got them there.

3. Big Ten culture shock

If the Iowa game is any indication, Illinois is back playing with the physicality and edge that helped them dominate on the glass and lock teams down defensively early in the season. Oddly, that defensive intensity took a vacation. Hopefully, it’s back for good. Quincy Guerrier’s rebounding returned, and that’s good news heading into post season.

The Big Ten is still a physical conference, and that has actually hurt its teams in NCAA Tournament games because of quick-whistle officiating. But if they let them play this year, the Illini’s physical presence on the glass could be a shock for opponents in the first couple of rounds.

THREE REAONS WHY THEY WON’T

1. Backcourt battles

While it might be a dead horse at this point, it’s still a factor. Illinois does not have a true point guard. That deficiency will stand out like a sore thumb in the NCAA Tournament, where the importance of guard play is always enhanced.

So, why do guards rule the roost in the Big Dance. In a win-or-go-home scenario, every teams brings it’s A-game on defense. There are no truly bad teams in the tournament, and they all come to compete. Ball pressure impacts ball security and freedom of movement. Illinois has a -2.41 turnover margin, ranking 13th in the Big Ten.

2. Closing time

The Illini’s inability to close games against high level opponents became a trend in the second half of the season. The first signs of trouble were in the 87-84 win over Nebraska on Feb. 4 when Illinois blew a 10-point lead with three minutes to go in regulation.

The next time it happened they weren’t so lucky. In its worst loss of the season, the Illini allowed Penn State to rally from a 7-point deficit in the final 36 seconds to win 90-89. You don’t feel quite as bad letting Purdue rally late in its win at State Farm Center, but it was another late collapse.

As we all know, the NCAA Tournament is a parade of possession games late. The Illini better find a way to close.

3. Communication breakdown

Brad Underwood went on and on about “scouting report mistakes” on defense the last couple of months. What is he talking about? Not matching up with Payton Sandfort when he spots up for 3’s on the secondary break. Going under screens against Boo Buie. Letting Jhamir Young continuously go left. Etc. etc.

It’s largely about communication. Illinois got complacent (and quiet) on the defensive end. They weren’t calling out ball screens and were often not getting to their spots in the rotation. Big Ten teams shot 39% from three against Illinois. NCAA Tournament teams have shot makers. Fair to communicate, and they will send Illinois home early.

Rivals currently lists him as a running back.

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Bracketolgy

Illinois seems locked in at the 4-seed or 5-seed depending how they finish up. A win at Iowa probably gets them the 4-seed. A loss and they may need to win two games in the Big Ten Tournament. The Illini dropped to No. 16 in the NET and are 5-6 vs. Quad 1 opponents.

Illinois can make a deep run in the tournament, but it will depend on matchups. Here are some of the more common slottings:

* 4-seed in the West against 13-seed Samford. 1/2 round in Salt Lake City. Second round matchup vs. 5-seed BYU.

* 4-seed in the East vs. 13-seed UC Irvin. 1/2 round in Spokane, WA. Second round matchup vs. 5-seed South Carolina

* 4-seed in the South vs. 13-seed Louisiana Tech. 1/2 round in Pittsburgh. Second round matchup vs. 5-seed Auburn.

If I'm Illinois, I don't want to see Auburn in the second round.

Guard play bugaboo

Guard play could bite Illinois in the ass in the tournament. The importance is always enhanced in the post season. Right now, Underwood doesn't have much confidence in Ty Rodgers. If he's not rebounding, he doesn't give you much.

Marcus Domask is essentially the point guard. As we've seen, he can struggle vs. pressure from small, quicker guards. Justin Harmon has been great, but he's a small forward in a guard's body. Moretti won't see much action in the tournament unless its a blowout. Gibbs-Lawhorn is lost on the bench.

Illinois is 10th in the Big Ten in A/TO ratio (1.20). They are 13th in turnover margin (-19.3). Underwood says he doesn't care about forcing turnovers. That's an odd take, IMO, especially for a team that is great in transition and can turn TO's into points. How will it go if they run into a team that applies pressure?

Closing games

Illinois hasn't been able to close games against high level opponents. That can hurt them in the tournament as well. Once it becomes a possession game late against good teams, they aren't converting or getting stops.

Why? The defense isn't good. We know that. But I think it's also because they are too confident in the spread-motion offense and aren't always putting the ball in the hands of the best playmakers. Forced shots at the end of the shot clock are killers.

Illinois has one of the best and most efficient offenses in the nation. It's different late, though. Teams hunker down and it becomes a halfcourt game.

Underwood would put the ball in the hands of Ayo and he became the best closer in college basketball. I'm not sure why he won't run plays for Shannon and Domask. The ball does tend to find them, but why not run a set play so they aren't rushing things? The 3-point miss by Harmon against Purdue when it was 67-66 really hurt.

Another off-season of Portal action

Once again, the makeup of the 2024-25 team will depend on who Illinois can land in the Transfer Portal. Depending on who stays or who goes, they need a minimum of three from Portal.

Guard - they need a guard capable of being the primary ball handler. They love incoming freshman Jase Butler. You don't want to bank the season on a freshman, though. Moretti is not a starter at this level. DGL is a scorer who plays with his head down.

Wing - Illinois will shoot for the stars to get a scoring wing with size. Rodgers hasn't come close to developing his shot and you wonder if he's even a starter moving forward. If you have a couple of big shooters / scorers surrounding him (Shannon/Domask) he's okay. Luke Goode is strictly a spot up shooter. He can't score off the bounce and is not a good passer or defender. Sencire Harris is small-ish and has issues with ballhandling. Underwood doesn't want to roll out a small backcourt, so where does that leave DGL?

Face-up big - It's doubtful that you can play Morez Johnson and Dain Dainja together, at least not next year. I expect Johnson to start at the 4 and he's a traditional power forward at this point. That makes is a must to land a face-up big in the mold of Coleman Hawkins who can stretch the floor. Jason Jakstys can be that kind of player in time, but he won't be read as a freshman. Amani Hansberry is banger, scrapper and he's becoming a decent mid-range shooter. I don't see him extending that beyond the arc.

Potential Portal losses

With no limitations on transfers, everyone is in play every year. You just never know.

Spit-balling...

Gibb-Lawhorn has said all the right things. Still, there are people around him who are unhappy with his benching. He hasn't seen the light of day lately.

It's unusual for a true junior to go through senior day festivities like Luke Goode did. He has seemed like the least likely to transfer, but that raised some eyebrows.

It's hard to read Dain Dainja. He's not a happy-go-lucky guy by nature. Underwood has ridden him hard. Many people see him moving again. We'll see.

Would Moretti consider moving down to a lower level? It's unlikely that he'll be a starter in the Big Ten.

I don't think I've every seen a kid take a voluntary redshirt year like Sincere Harris. He also says the right things, but it would shock no one if he transfers.

Any questions?

Why can they?

Why can't they?

I'll have my thoughts in a Hoops Hot Takes.

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Illinois baseball (5-8) fell to No. 8 Tennessee, 24-1, today at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Asher Bradd went 1-for-3, driving in the Illini's lone run of the ballgame in the fifth.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Volunteers jumped out to a 10-0 lead, aided by a six-run second. Bradd's RBI-groundout in the fifth broke the scoring run, but the hosts would score 14 more to hand the Illini the. 24-1 defeat.

UP NEXT

The Fighting Illini close their three-game series with No. 8 Tennessee tomorrow, with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m. CT.

GAME NOTES
» Asher Bradd went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
» Extended his hitting streak to three games...has gone 4-for-11 (.364) during that span.
» Vytas Valincius went 1-for-2 in the game.
» Has hit safely in five-straight...has gone 6-for-17 (.353) during that span with five RBI.
» Brody Harding went 1-for-3.
» Has hit safely in four-straight, going 8-for-16 (.500) during that span.
» Illinois pitchers faced 56 Tennessee hitters in the game, allowing three ground balls and 10 fly balls while striking out 11.

Thursday, April 11
Minnesota (open practice)

Friday, April 12
Kansas

Saturday, April 13
Purdue
Penn State

Saturday, April 20
Michigan
Illinois
Michigan State

Saturday, April 27
Nebraska
Rutgers
Oregon
Eastern Illinois

* Central Michigan opens spring practice on March 20. It has not yet announced the date for a spring game.

* Northwestern opened spring practice on March 5. It is not scheduled to hold a spring game.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – The 16th-ranked Illinois men's golf team closed out play at The Johnnie-O at Sea Island on Tuesday, but the Illini were unable to find the consistency needed to move up the leaderboard in Round 3.

Instead, despite a late push that saw the four Illini scorers shoot 11-under over the final five holes, the team's slow start was too much to overcome, and the Orange and Blue slid two spots to finish eighth in the 14-team field at Sea Island Resort's Plantation Course.

"It was a tough week, and we've got some work to do," head coach Mike Small said. "We were never in the tournament from the first hole on the first day. I thought that we would rally back today and play a solid final round, but we didn't even come close. This was the worst representation of the way to play 'Illini golf' that I've seen from our team in a lot of years, and it has to improve."

Illinois closed with a team score of 290 (+2), the fourth lowest of the day and the team's lowest of the three-round event after carding scores of 282 and 288 in Rounds 1 and 2, respectively. Overall, the Illini finished 4-under with a 54-hole total of 860, six shots outside of the top 5. No. 41 Notre Dame (832) ran away with the team title by 10 strokes over No. 19 Texas (842). Michigan State was a close third, one shot off the Longhorns' pace.

Max Herendeen was the lone Illini to shoot under par in Round 3. The freshman bounced back in a big way after posting an 8 on the Par-4 fifth hole. A birdie on No. 8 jump-started a stretch in which Herendeen shot 6-under over his final 11 holes – including an eagle on No. 14. His 2-under 70 was enough to ascend three spots on the leaderboard where he finished tied for 26th with junior Jackson Buchanan. Buchanan was 2-over at the turn and 4-over after 12 holes in Round 3, before a stretch of three straight birdies on Nos. 14, 15, and 16, helped him close with a 1-over 73 to match Herendeen's three-round total of 215 (-1).

Fifth-year Tyler Goecke tied for 14th to place as the Illini's top finisher for the second straight tournament. Goecke entered the day seventh but was 3-over at the turn and 4-over through 11 holes before finding his footing. Like Buchanan and Herendeen, he finished with a strong push, including birdies over three of his final five holes, to card a 73 (+1) in Round 3 and finish with a 4-under 212 for the tournament.

Fifth-year Timmy Crawford closed out the Round 3 scoring for the Illini with a 74 (+2) to finish tied for 63rd at 223 (+7), while sophomore Ryan Voois posted a 3-over 75 to finish tied for 46th at 220 (+4).

Three Illini individuals also wrapped up play at The Johnnie-O Individual at the nearby Sea Palms Course. Freshman Ethan Wilson recorded the second-lowest round of his collegiate career with a closing 66 (-5) for a runner-up finish with a three-round score of 209 (-4). Senior Piercen Hunt tied for third at 211 (-2), two shots behind Wilson, and fifth-year senior Jerry Ji placed seventh with a 54-hole tally of 216 (+3).

UP NEXT
Illinois will head to the nearby Chechessee Creek Club in Okatie, S.C., for a head-to-head exhibition vs. Texas on Thursday. The matchup features two of the nation's premier programs, with the Illini and Longhorns having combined for 15 NCAA Match Play appearances – eight for Illinois and seven for Texas – since the NCAA Championship's current format was adopted in 2009.

FOLLOW THE #ILLINI
For more Fighting Illini men's golf news, stay tuned to FightingIllini.com and follow @IlliniMGolf on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook.

UIC fired Luke Yaklich yesterday.

Could Dee Brown be their next coach?

In his first year at Roosevelt, he went 19-10. And this year he was 25-4.

Dee was an assistant at UIC until taking the Roosevelt job. He worked under Yaklich so there could be some continuity with the current players as he is only two years removed from leaving UIC.

And being a Chicago area native could help with recruiting the local talent.

It would be a huge jump, however, from coaching NAIA to Div. 1

Illinous is landing one of its top 2025 targets today. FYI

Per multiple reports, Illinois is finalizing a deal to hire Clint Sintim as it's new outside linebacker coach.

Bio:

Clint Sintim is in his fourth year as a defensive coach after returning to his alma mater in 2020. In 2022, under new head coach Tony Elliott, Sintim switched from coaching the defensive line to be the team’s linebackers coach.

The UVA defense showed considerable improvement in 2022. The unit ranked No. 3 in the ACC in pass defense, No. 5 in average sacks per game and No. 5 in passing efficiency.

The Cavaliers ranked No. 24 in the nation in yards per play (4.97) and were 29th in points surrendered per possession. Among Power 5 Conference schools, UVA was highly effective in minimizing big plays (20+ yards), allowing only 3.2 per contest.

In the 2022 matchup with Georgia Tech, the defense racked up eight sacks, the second-highest single-game total in program history. In that same contest, UVA held the Yellow Jackets below double figures in scoring for just the second time in the previous 44 meetings between the teams. Georgia Tech’s 202 yards of total offense was the fewest allowed to an FBS/ACC opponent since the 2013 season.

Sintim’s front line in 2020 helped the Cavaliers finish No. 11 in the nation with 3.2 sacks per game. UVA’s 32 sacks rank No. 6 all-time on UVA’s single-season list as 9.5 of those sacks were registered by defensive linemen.

Sintim returned to UVA after spending the previous three seasons as the linebackers/defensive ends coach for Danny Rocco at Delaware. Prior to that, he coached for Rocco at Richmond in the same capacity during the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Rocco is a former UVA assistant coach.

Sintim, a native of Woodbridge, was a four-year letter-winner at Virginia and served as a team captain as a senior in 2008. He was a second-team All-ACC selection and received All-America honors from Phil Steele and Pro Football Weekly that season. He finished his UVA career with 245 tackles, including 29 sacks and 46 tackles for loss, while playing in 49 games. His sack total ranks as the second highest in UVA history, and his tackles for loss number is tied for the third most by a Cavalier.

In 2005, Sintim picked up freshman All-American honors by the Sporting News (third team) and was also named to that organization’s ACC All-Freshman team. He received UVA’s Bill Dudley award as the program’s most outstanding first-year player. Sintim led the nation’s linebackers in sacks as both a junior and senior, accumulating nine in each season.

After playing in the 2009 Senior Bowl, Sintim was a second-round NFL Draft selection by the New York Giants. He played in both the 2009 and 2010 seasons before a knee injury sidelined him for the 2011 and 2012 campaigns. He announced his retirement as a player in 2013. Sintim’s NFL career included a Super Bowl (XLVI) championship (2011 season) when the Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21-17 in Indianapolis.

After his NFL playing career, Sintim spent the 2014 season with the West Alabama Tigers as the outside linebackers coach and assisted with the special teams as part of the NFL Players Association Coaching Internship Program. Prior to the 2016 season, Sintim took part in the NFL Minority Internship Program and worked with the Washington Redskins during their preseason camp.

In each of Sintim’s two seasons at Richmond, the Spiders advanced to the NCAA playoffs. They reached the national semifinals in 2015 and the quarterfinals in 2016. Each of those UR teams finished with 10 wins.

At Delaware, Sintim helped the 2018 team return to the FCS Playoffs for the first time since the 2010 season. He also helped the Blue Hens land their best recruiting class in the program’s history in 2020. It was Delaware’s second consecutive top-10 FCS class, according to HERO Sports.

An all-state performer at Gar-Field High School, Sintim earned his degree in anthropology from Virginia in 2009. He and his wife, Angie, had their first child (Aniyah) in 2020.