Coleman Hawkins returning to Illini rather than entering NBA Draft
The big man led the Illini in rebounding and was third in scoring during his junior season.
Watch CBS News
The big man led the Illini in rebounding and was third in scoring during his junior season.
The 6-6 guard is returning for a fifth college season after averaging 17.2 points.
The program is heading into the third year of the Bielema era coming off their first bowl appearance.
The Chicago native said he's worked out for the Celtics and Cavaliers but hasn't talked with his hometown Bulls who don't have a first-round pick.
Last year, Bret Bielema led the Illini to their first winning season since 2011, and their first eight-win season since 2007.
Epps started in 11 games, and averaged 9.5 points a game.
Ricky Council IV scored 18 points and Arkansas survived some anxious moments in the second half against an Illinois team that wouldn't go away.
The Illini were making their eighth trip to the NCAA Tournament, the first since 2003.
Both the Fighting Illini and the Wildcats are playing in the West Region, but they will start in two different places.
Illinois (22-9), an 11-seed, will take on Mississippi State (20-10) on Wednesday.
The No. 9 seed will play Arkansas on Thursday.
Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 19 points, Coleman Hawkins 17 and Dain Dainja 13 for Illinois (20-12).
The Illini were set to take on Penn State with a trip to the quarterfinals to face Northwestern on the line.
Brandon Newman scored 19 points and Zach Edey added 17 as No. 5 Purdue held on to beat Illinois 76-71 on Sunday.
No. 2 Indiana faces No. 14 Ohio State in the first semifinal at Target Center, the first-time host of this tournament.
The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub will bring together top researchers from the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Makira Cook scored 24 points, Genesis Bryant added 21, and the Illini thumped Rutgers.
Matthew Mayer opened the second overtime with a 3-pointer and a layup and the Fighting Illini (20-10, 11-8 Big Ten Conference) never trailed again.
The Biohub will specialize in engineering technologies to measure biological processes in human tissues at the molecular level.
Bruce Thornton scored 20 points, fellow freshman Brice Sensabaugh scored 14, senior Justice Sueing contributed a double-double, and Ohio State defeated Illinois 72-60 on Sunday, snapping a nine-game losing streak.
Boo Buie led Northwestern with a career-high 35 points.
Mayer made 7 of 14 shots with two 3-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds for the Fighting Illini (18-9, 9-7 Big Ten Conference), who snapped a two-game skid.
Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 20 points to lead five in double figures for Illinois.
I can thank 150 of my new friends in the Orange Krush, the University of Illinois' famous student basketball cheering section that's become infamous throughout the Big Ten for hijacking the opposition's stadiums.
Illinois (17-7, 8-5 Big Ten) trailed 47-41 with 14 1/2 minutes left before Hawkins' 3-pointer started a 19-0 run.
A U.S. citizen detained by ICE at gunpoint in his underwear in frigid conditions in Minnesota asks, "What did I do wrong?" The Associated Press says
The city-wide fundraiser comes as Latino families face food insecurity, wage loss, and instability after ICE activity in Chicago.
Last July, Herrera was hit and killed while walking across this intersection at Ashland and Cullerton after working a street festival in the Pilsen neighborhood.
Connor Bedard added an empty-net goal as the Blackhawks stopped a three-game slide. It was Bedard's first goal since returning from a right shoulder injury.
The incident happened at Medgar Evers Elementary School in Ford Heights last Thursday, where the Cook County Sheriff's Office said a loaded gun was found in a student's backpack.
A U.S. citizen detained by ICE at gunpoint in his underwear in frigid conditions in Minnesota asks, "What did I do wrong?" The Associated Press says
Illinois House Speaker Emmanuel "Chris" Welch posted photos of himself with Chicago Bears owner George McCaskey and president Kevin Warren at Sunday night's game as the apparent two-horse race continues to land a new football stadium.
As his standoff with America's closest allies escalates, President Trump says not getting the Nobel Peace Prize means he's no longer obligated "to think purely of Peace."
The Justice Dept. says it's investigating a group of protesters in Minnesota who disrupted services at a church where a local ICE official apparently serves as a pastor.
Europeans were reeling Sunday from President Trump's announcement that eight countries will face a 10% tariff for opposing American control of Greenland.
Police in the west Chicago suburb of Geneva are warning of a scam involving spoofed phone numbers.
Protesters on Tuesday were cranking up the heat on Peoples Gas over a recently proposed rate hike that would add an additional $10 to $11 a month to utility bills.
A lawsuit filed late last month took Chicago-based McDonald's to task over the McRib sandwich, calling its name a form of false advertising.
As this holiday season nears its end, Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias issued a warning Tuesday about text scams.
A new report shines a light on electricity shortages that Illinois could face in less than 10 years.
Roughly 1.4 million fewer Americans have signed up for an Affordable Care Act plan as expiring tax breaks drive up premiums.
January is Radon Action Month, and the Cook County Department of Public Health is urging residents to test their homes for radon.
Severe flu season is sending many people to hospital emergency rooms across the country, including in the Chicago area.
Unionized health care workers this week took aim at Northwestern Medicine, saying the health care system needs to hire more people before expanding the emergency room at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Tuesday that its recommendations for childhood vaccines will not be affected by a change in federal guidelines.
A development proposal issued this month calls for the replacement of a building housing a Giordiano's pizzeria in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood with a new mixed-use building with 28 residential units.
United Airlines flight attendants picketed outside Chicago's Willis Tower Thursday morning as they fought for a new contract.
WSCR-AM, 670 The Score, will begin a simulcast on 104.3 FM next month.
Does the Chicago Bears' dramatic improvement this season, culminating in their first playoff run in five years, change the discussion about where they will build a new stadium?
The Piggery, a popular barbecue restaurant and bar in the northwest corner of Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood, announced Thursday that it is going out of business.
A flamenco dance series in Chicago is expanding access to the arts by bringing the expressive traditional dance form to Chicago communities.
Monday is the opening day for a new exhibit at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry that immerses visitors into the imaginative world of award-winning fashion and costume designer Paul Tazewell.
Scott Adams, the cartoonist who created the "Dilbert" comic strip, has died at the age of 68, his first ex-wife revealed on Tuesday.
Here is everything you need to know about how to watch and stream the 2026 Golden Globes.
Bob Weir wrote or co-wrote and sang lead vocals on Grateful Dead classics including "Sugar Magnolia," "One More Saturday Night" and "Mexicali Blues."
The Northern Lights were visible from the Chicago area on Monday night amid a G4 solar storm.
Laura Bannon is tracking bitter cold conditions in Chicago.
Dan O’Connor jumped right in on Monday morning when the lake water temperature was just 33 degrees.
Flu hospitalizations for children under age 18 have hit the highest weekly rate in more than 15 years. At least 32 children have died from the flu.
Bundle up with the heavy jackets early tomorrow morning. By the afternoon highs will hover in the teens but will still feel like the single digits during the afternoon with partly cloudy skies.
The incident happened at Medgar Evers Elementary School in Ford Heights last Thursday, where the Cook County Sheriff's Office said a loaded gun was found in a student's backpack.
The victim was found unresponsive in the alley at 64th and Drexel Sunday morning and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Chicago police issued a warning about a string of vehicle break-ins involving Honda Civics on the South Side.
A U.S. citizen detained by ICE at gunpoint in his underwear in frigid conditions in Minnesota asks, "What did I do wrong?" The Associated Press says
The city-wide fundraiser comes as Latino families face food insecurity, wage loss, and instability after ICE activity in Chicago.
Chicago police issued a warning about a string of vehicle break-ins involving Honda Civics on the South Side.
Even as Mayor Brandon Johnson has warned of possible mid-year city worker layoffs if revenue estimates in the budget fall short, city employees and workers at the city's sister agencies owe a mountain of outstanding debt to the city.
Lead-based paint was banned for serious health reasons in 1978, but most homes built before then remain covered in it.
Fire department officials in Chicago's western suburbs said drone technology has been helping keep firefighters safe and make a major impact on public safety.
With the stores becoming a common target for thieves, some of the stores in the Chicago area are taking new steps to fight back.
Connor Bedard added an empty-net goal as the Blackhawks stopped a three-game slide. It was Bedard's first goal since returning from a right shoulder injury.
Caleb Williams was reflective the day after and focused on attacking the offseason, while appreciating the impact this team had on the city of Chicago.
Caleb Williams' last throw in regulation was a backpedaling, fourth-down rainbow that landed in Cole Kmet's hands in the corner of the end zone for a breathtaking touchdown.
Despite forcing OT with a catch in the final minute in the 4th Quarter, the Chicago Bears' playoff journey comes to an end.
Chicago led 70-51 at the half and the advantage stayed above 20 points for most of the second half.
The video shows burglars slicing into display cases under the eyes of several Louvre Museum staff members who do not intervene.
A judge and his wife were shot and wounded in their home over the weekend in Lafayette, Indiana.
A jewelry store in Chicago's Little India district was robbed at gunpoint Sunday evening.
A man was arrested and charged this weekend with a string of armed robberies and burglaries within a period of just over an hour earlier this month in Chicago.
The ages of the victims range from 17 to 40, according to Chicago police.
