Wisch: Illini Short On Expectations, Long On Experience
What exactly would you call this season for the University of Illinois basketball team?
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What exactly would you call this season for the University of Illinois basketball team?
The last time Illinois and Colorado squared off in a game that truly meant something, the Fighting Illini fell far behind, staged a furious comeback and escaped with a dramatic one-point victory.
Deshaun Thomas, playing perhaps his final home game for No. 14 Ohio State, scored 19 points Sunday to lead the Buckeyes to a 68-55 victory over Illinois, keeping alive their hopes of a Big Ten title tie.
Illinois used double-figure scoring from five players to hold off stubborn Nebraska Saturday, 72-65.
Trey Burke had 26 points and eight assists to help No. 7 Michigan bounce back from a slow start to beat Illinois 71-58 Sunday.
D.J. Richardson scored 18 points and Illinois opened up a big first-half lead that buried Purdue 79-59 on Wednesday night.
On Monday morning, a Facebook friend posted a status asking where people thought Illinois will be seeded in the NCAA Tournament. His guess: as a No. 8 seed.
A great week for the Illini got even better for guard D.J. Richardson.
D.J. Richardson scored a career-high 30 points, Brandon Paul added 14 and Illinois ended a three-game losing streak with a 71-51 victory over Nebraska on Tuesday night.
Jared Berggren scored 15 points and grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds, and Traevon Jackson added a career-best 14 points to lead Wisconsin over No. 12 Illinois 74-51 Saturday.
Brandon Paul scored 14 points and D.J. Richardson overcame a shoulder injury to add 11 and help 10th-ranked Illinois hold off Norfolk State 64-54 on Tuesday night.
Joseph Bertrand made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions and scored every point in a 10-0 run to ignite No. 22 Illinois to a 75-62 victory over Georgia Tech on Wednesday night in an ACC-Big Ten Challenge game.
Illinois caught a huge wave of scoring in Hawaii and rode it all the way to the Maui Invitational title.
D.J. Richardson drained a 3-pointer at the overtime buzzer, capping a comeback from a 16-point second-half deficit and giving Illinois a wild 78-77 victory over Hawaii on Friday night.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 points and Evan Smotrycz added 13, helping No. 22 Michigan remain unbeaten at home with a 70-61 win over Illinois on Sunday.
Brandon Paul shook off a poor-shooting game to score 18 points, including two free throws with 45 seconds left that gave Illinois the lead in a 42-41 victory over No. 9 Michigan State on Tuesday night.
Jordan Taylor scored 19 points and Jared Berggren added 18 to help Wisconsin upset No. 22 Illinois 67-63 on Sunday.
D.J. Richardson, Brandon Paul and Joseph Bertrand are beginning to look a bit like Dee Brown, Deron Williams and Luther Head did back in 2003-04.
Robbie Hummel didn't have to do his usual damage for Purdue to overwhelm Illinois.
In an attempt to slow the 7-foot-1 Illinois center, Mitchell and Coppin State turned to a zone-heavy defense, but the hot-shooting Illini handled it with ease in an 80-63 win over the Eagles on Sunday night.
Meyers Leonard scored 21 points and helped Illinois hold No. 19 Gonzaga's Robert Sacre to two second-half points Saturday in an 82-75 upset.
Meyers Leonard had a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds as Illinois defeated Richmond 70-61 on Tuesday night in the Cancun Challenge.
Northwestern didn't have a chance when they took the court against Illinois. The Fighting Illini took a 23 point lead at the half. The Wildcats put up a second half fight, but were too far behind for a comeback.
Merry Christmas, Illini Nation. Bah, humbug. For Illinois basketball fans, there are few – if any – things worse than losing to Missouri in the annual Braggin' Rights battle.
Police in south suburban Lansing are asking people to shelter in place on Thursday afternoon as officers search for a gunman following a shooting near the police station.
A Chicago man has pleaded guilty to federal charges accusing him of convincing a 14-year-old girl in Boston to send him sexually explicit videos of herself on Snapchat.
A man was ordered detained Thursday in a crash that killed an Illinois Tollway on the Tri-State Tollway last weekend.
Scientists have understood for years that black holes should produce wind or streams of gas as they consume matter, but a search for such a wind around the central black hole of the Milky Way galaxy had been coming up fruitless for more than 50 years.
A Jeep plowed into a Dunkin' on Chicago's Northwest Side Thursday morning.
The Senate will soon hold what's expected to be a marathon vote series as Republicans seek to fund immigration agencies under the Department of Homeland Security without help from Democrats.
At least 207 people have been killed since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls "narcoterrorists" in September.
Mayor Brandon Johnson on Wednesday said he remains confident about Chicago being the best spot for a future Bears stadium, despite the team's repeated public assertions that the city is off the table.
In May, the Senate advanced a similar measure to force the president to end the prolonged conflict with Iran.
The week after Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and a delegation of 45 other Chicago notables met with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican, another Chicago politician got to meet the pope too.
An Illinois law banning "swipe fees" on taxes and tips — already delayed twice by lawmakers — appears to be on life support after a federal judge that once permitted it issued a permanent injunction against it this week.
A new study from the Cook County Treasurer's office underlines growing concerns about the impact the Illinois megaprojects bill could have on the county's property tax base and overall fiscal health.
As thousands of Chicagoans wrap up road trips over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, gas prices in the city have reached the highest levels seen in four years.
Consumer and environmental advocates said Monday that they found overcharges buried in the most recent rate-hike request by Nicor.
One week away from Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of the summer travel season, with gas prices remaining high, negotiations were set to resume Monday at the largest oil refinery in the Midwest.
While 330 Ebola infections are confirmed in central Africa and huge challenges remain, hundreds more suspected cases "have been cleared out," the WHO says.
June is World Infertility Awareness Month, and Northwestern Medicine on Monday shared the story of a woman who is celebrating the birth of her second child after a tumor disrupted her fertility.
The Centennial Park Aquatic Center in the southwest Chicago suburb of Orland Park has been closed to the public after two recent cases of E. coli infection.
Menopause can feel like a major turning point for millions of women, with symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, and brain fog can make women feel like their bodies aren't their own.
The head of the World Health Organization says Ebola has killed at least 7 people in Congo, but the U.N. agency says it knows the epidemic "is much larger."
Walgreens is set to close in Chicago's Chatham neighborhood on Thursday, and there's growing concern about where families will get their medications.
The owners of Gene & Georgetti steakhouse are suing a concessions operator over their expansion at Midway International Airport.
DraftKings announced Monday that it is closing its sportsbook operation at Wrigley Field after only about two years.
After more than 80 years, there will be no Ann Sather restaurant location in the 900 block of West Belmont Avenue in Chicago's Lakeview community, effective in June.
Flight attendants at Chicago-based United Airlines have approved a new labor contract, marking their first pay increases in six years.
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is on the cover of Madden NFL 27, the first Bear ever to grace the primary cover of the massively popular video game.
Peabo Bryson, a two-time Grammy-winning singer and songwriter known for Disney movie hits "Beauty and the Beast" and "A Whole New World," has died at age 75.
You may never have heard about it, but before Bob Dylan got to Manhattan and blazed his trail to fame, he spent about a month on and around the University of Chicago campus.
Joe Negri, known to many as Handyman Negri on "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood," has died at the age of 99, just days shy of his 100th birthday.
President Trump said he is considering replacing the Freedom 250 concert series with a rally after many artists dropped out.
The FBI has announced a new tool to fight against fraud. FBI Director Kash Patel unveiled the bureau’s first-ever “Most Wanted Fraudsters” list, focused on fugitives accused of major financial crimes.
A person was shot and killed inside an Amazon facility parking garage in Melrose Park, Illinois, on Thursday morning.
Meteorologist David Yeomans has your 11 a.m. First Alert Weather forecast for Thursday, June 4, 2026.
Sixth Ward Alderman William Hall says closures like these are creating pharmacy deserts in Chicago. The nearest Walgreens to the one closing in Chatham is more than a mile away, at 87th and Stony Island Avenue.
A Jeep plowed into a Dunkin’ on Chicago’s Northwest Side Thursday morning.
The Eisenhower Expressway was shut down in both directions in Chicago's western suburbs as a bomb squad examined a vehicle on the roadway Thursday.
A person was shot and killed inside an Amazon facility parking garage in Melrose Park, Illinois, on Thursday morning.
Walgreens is set to close in Chicago's Chatham neighborhood on Thursday, and there's growing concern about where families will get their medications.
Police in south suburban Lansing are asking people to shelter in place on Thursday afternoon as officers search for a gunman following a shooting near the police station.
A Chicago man has pleaded guilty to federal charges accusing him of convincing a 14-year-old girl in Boston to send him sexually explicit videos of herself on Snapchat.
The Obama Presidential Center has been built with sustainability literally in its foundation. But its infrastructure for clean energy, environmentalism and climate change resiliency will also help the communities around it on Chicago's South Side.
A driver in Carol Stream says a band of hungry squirrels caused nearly $30,000 in damage to three different luxury vehicles because of plant-based parts they view as a tasty snack.
Legislation protecting Illinois customers receiving professional massages from sexual assaults and harassment is now on its way to Gov. JB Pritzker for his signature.
Could banning cell phones make Illinois classrooms better places to learn? State lawmakers are betting on it, sending a bill to Gov. JB Pritzker's desk to do exactly that.
Feel Free, a kratom drink, is easy to buy and increasingly popular, even as doctors and medical experts grow more concerned about its health impacts, addiction rates and deaths.
Nick Kurtz singled in automatic runner Alika Williams in the 10th inning, and the Athletics rallied for a second straight win, 5-4 over the sliding Chicago Cubs.
With the NBA Finals tipping off Wednesday night in San Antonio, New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson has a chance to add another title to the championship résumé he started building at Stevenson High School in Chicago's north suburbs.
Erick Fedde pitched five scoreless innings for his first win in 10 months as the Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 8-0.
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is on the cover of Madden NFL 27, the first Bear ever to grace the primary cover of the massively popular video game.
Luke Keaschall and Tristan Gray drove in two runs apiece in a bottom-of-the-order attack for the Minnesota Twins in beating the Chicago White Sox 6-4 and delivering right-hander Davis Martin a rare loss.
A man was ordered detained Thursday in a crash that killed an Illinois Tollway on the Tri-State Tollway last weekend.
Students at Tilden High School in Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood took part in a peace walk Thursday morning to remember one of their own who was killed in a drive-by shooting.
A man suffered cuts to his neck and body during a fight on board a CTA Blue Line train on Wednesday evening in the Loop.
The discovery comes in the midst of a U.S.-backed military crackdown on the organized crime gangs in Ecuador.
It's been nearly two years since Chicago's ShotSpotter contract expired, and the city has yet to find a replacement.
