BY STEFAN MODRICH/@StefanJModrich CHICAGO — Illinois head coach John Groce had some advice for his players before Saturday’s 75-73 win over BYU in the Legends Classic, particularly for senior guards Tracy Abrams and Jaylon Tate and sophomore guard D.J. Williams. “Making sure you’re playing with…
BY STEFAN MODRICH/@StefanJModrich CHICAGO — In a game of runs, it didn’t hurt Northwestern to open the Chicago Legends Classic action with an 11-0 lead en route to a 67-64 win over Dayton on Saturday at the United Center. It was also a tale of…
2015 is winding down, and it was an interesting year for Chicago basketball. Two programs reached their conference tournament semifinals, two programs experienced coaching changes and one program (Northwestern) is now receiving AP Top 25 votes. The Catch and Shoot has chosen its Top 10…
CHICAGO — UIC was fortunate to be within 11 points at halftime Saturday against Illinois. The Flames had shot just 37 percent from the field and turned the ball over nine times in the opening 20 minutes. The offense consisted mainly of chucking the ball at…
CHICAGO — Malcolm Hill scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half as Illinois held off UIC Saturday at the United Center, 83-79. After trailing 41-30 at halftime, UIC (1-6) used a 14-0 run in the second half to grab a 58-54 advantage with 9:53…
CHICAGO — Illinois barely held off UIC Saturday at the United Center. After trailing late in the second half, the Illini finished strong for an 83-79 victory. Here’s a breakdown of what we learned in the big brother-little brother matchup: —Dominique Matthews is the real…
CHICAGO — Chicago native Tyler Ulis carved up No. 5 Duke on Tuesday at the Champions Classic, carrying No. 2 Kentucky to a 74-63 victory. The 5-foot-9 point guard posted game-highs of 18 points, six assists at the United Center without turning over the ball once. He also shot 6-of-13…
CHICAGO — Ohio State defeated Minnesota on Thursday to advance to the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, but the victory was extra meaningful because it was coach Thad Matta‘s 298th as a Buckeye, making him the school’s all-time winningest coach. At his postgame press conference, Matta handed out…
CHICAGO — Ironically, Iowa is not the biggest loser in its loss Thursday to Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament second round. That honor goes to Purdue. Purdue entered the Big Ten Tournament on the bubble with its NCAA Tournament prospects in the air. The…
CHICAGO — The good news for Illinois fans if they will not have to sweat on Selection Sunday. The bad news is there will be no tension because everybody knowns the Fighting Illini are NIT bound for the second straight year under coach John Groce. Illinois entered…
