The case for and against the Big Ten bubble teams
By Dan Escalona
March 1, 2016
Over the next week or two, you will undoubtably hear a lot about bubbles. As it stands now, the Big Ten is guaranteed at least five spots in the tournament. For those five teams —Indiana, Michigan State, Maryland, Iowa and Purdue — the regular-season finales and the conference tourna...
Beware of the Badgers: Wisconsin basketball is rising
By Dan Escalona
February 16, 2016
Tweet: The Wisconsin Badgers are back in the March Madness mix, and opposing teams don't want them in their bracket, writes columnist @danescalona77Five weeks ago, casual observers of the Big Ten could have been forgiven for turning their full attention away from Wisconsin. The Badgers were 1-4 in the Bi...
Hoosiers’ final exam beginning a month early
By Dan Escalona
February 9, 2016
Tweet: Indiana, the time for the reality check has arrived, writes Dan EscalonaThe Indiana Hoosiers have piled up breezy victories over mid-majors and Big Ten bottom feeders in the same way many of us students begin the semester piling up points on extra credit and freebie homework assignments.In the...
Iowa on its way to owning Big Ten in 2016
By Dan Escalona
January 19, 2016
Tweet: Forget the Spartans, the Big Ten is Iowa’s to lose, writes college hoops columnist @danescalona77Football season may still be seven months away, but Iowa is making its best attempt at revenge for the Big Ten Championship game on the basketball court — not the gridiron.In case you hav...
A conversation with an Illini: Reilly O'Toole
By Kevin McCarthy
October 27, 2015
He wore the No. 4 on the field, but was always No. 1 in the hearts of those all the way from the ole’ Blarney stone near Cork to the bustling town of Champaign. The former Illini starting quarterback and current graduate assistant coach sat down to talk with me about everything from Spongebob to Juice ...
It's summer of uncertainty for Illini football, basketball fans
By Alex Roux
July 18, 2015
When you’ve been out of school since mid-May, it feels like summer is winding down by the time late July rolls around.Classes start in about a month. The first football game is a little over six weeks away, which will kick off another year of Illini sports. I’ve been trying to envision how the reve...
Groce hosts trio of recruits as current team returns to campus
June 14, 2015
Summer on the University of Illinois campus is generally quiet, a time mostly devoid of any significant Illini hoops news.However, there were some developments this past weekend with John Groce’s program as he hosted a trio of visitors, while welcoming back some familiar faces as well.Summer school start...
Announcing the winner of the Twittournament
March 20, 2014
What does it take to rule Twitter? Here in the Twittournament Final Four, the most popular March competition since spring football, we have a variety of ways to reach the top. You can be a reporter — Adrian Wojnarowski is. He knows damn near everything about the National Basketball Association, and he ...
