Illini

Alfonso Plummer scored 15 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 12 seconds to go, and fourth-seeded Illinois escaped 13th-seeded Chattanooga 54-53 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. The Big Ten co-champion Illini (23-9) never led until the final minute and survived when Chattanooga star Malachi Smith missed twice in the closing seconds. His runner in…

Donta Scott scored a career-high 25 points and Maryland took advantage of Kofi Cockburn’s absence in an 81-65 victory over No. 17 Illinois on Friday night.

Bennedict Mathurin scored 30 points to power No. 11 Arizona over Illinois 83-79 on Saturday

Brandon Peters threw for 242 yards and a touchdown and Illinois rolled over Big Ten rival Northwestern 47-14 on Saturday.

Chez Mellusi ran for 145 yards and a touchdown and Wisconsin beat Illinois 24-0

Under a new coach, with fans packed into the stands for the first time since 2019 and its backup quarterback at the helm, Illinois beat Nebraska 30-22 to kick off the 2021 college football season

Illinois center Kofi Cockburn learned some hard lessons dueling with Luka Garza as a freshman. On Saturday, he stood up to Iowa’s career scoring leader — and won. Cockburn scored 18 of his 26 points in the first half, fought through foul trouble in the second half and challenged Garza physically while leading No. 3 Illinois past No. 5 Iowa…

The Illini have four games left in the regular season.

Big Ten Freshman of the Year Kofi Cockburn is returning to Illinois for his sophomore season. The 7-foot, 290-pound Cockburn posted “IM BACK ‼️” with a graphic on Twitter on Saturday. The announcement means the Illini will have their top two players return from a team that was in line to make the NCAA Tournament last season, after all-conference guard Ayo...

As a young boy growing up on Chicago’s north side, Shawn Sloan was passionate about video games. Sports? He didn’t find them all that interesting, and when he did try playing, it never felt right. “When I would just be playing tag and stuff at recess, I’d just feel like I’m not like everybody else,” said Sloan. “I’d feel...

Shawn Sloan will start playing for the University of Illinois wheelchair basketball team this fall despite being diagnosed with Cerebral palsy as a toddler, and NBC 5’s Mike Berman has his story.

It’s hard for Ayo Dosunmu not to feel upset about the way his sophomore season at Illinois came to an end. Thanks in large part to his 16.6 points and 3.3 assists per game, Dosunmu had the Illini headed back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013. But then, disappointment. The coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of…

Fighting Illini Star Ayo Dosunmu talked with NBC 5’s Mike Berman about his decision to declare for the NBA Draft.