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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Provided
Shannon Monahan, second from right in the front row, is surrounded by her St. Thomas More volleyball teammates after she signed to play college volleyball with Lindenwood on Monday in Champaign.
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. Beat a Top 25 team and then follow that up with another quality win? Good enough for the Illinois women’s basketball team to land at No. 23 in the Associated Press poll that came out Monday. The Illini men’s basketball team, which also carries a 2-0 record, is still unranked. The Illini are the top team among other teams receiving votes, with Illinois at No. 26 in Monday’s AP Top 25.
➜ 2. Illinois football got a jump on its Class of 2026 with a Sunday night commitment from four-star quarterback Michael Clayton from Sanford, Fla.
➜ 3. Congrats to St. Thomas More volleyball standout Shannon Monahan for signing with Lindenwood University, a D-I program in St. Charles, Mo., on Monday.
Isaiah Williams helped Illinois beat Northwestern in the Illini’s final home game in 2021.
Numbers game: .200
winning percentage by Illinois football the last 10 seasons during the Illini’s final home game of the season at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. Illinois (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) hosts Michigan State (4-5, 2-4) at 1:30 p.m. this Saturday. The only two wins in that span were a 47-14 victory against Northwestern in 2021 and a 16-14 win against Penn State in 2014.
From left, Kasparas Jakucionis, Tre White and Tomislav Ivisic will try to help the Illinois men’s basketball team get to 3-0 when the Illini host Oakland on Wednesday night at State Farm Center in Champaign.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Oakland at Illinois men’s basketball. The Golden Grizzlies are a far different team than the one that upset Kentucky in the NCAA tournament last season. Coach Greg Kampe’s team is 1-1 before Wednesday’s 8 p.m. tip in Champaign after a 75-52 win against NAIA foe Defiance College and an ugly 87-43 loss at Boise State.
➜ 2. Alabama at Purdue men’s basketball. The No. 2 Crimson Tide, who play the Illini on Nov. 20, beat McNeese on Monday night to improve to 3-0 ahead of Friday night’s showdown with the 13th-ranked Boilermakers in West Lafayette, Ind.
➜ 3. Eastern Illinois at Illinois women’s basketball. Next game for the Illini is at 6 p.m. Thursday at State Farm Center.
Tuscola softball coach Halle Kerns
Coach’s corner
Three questions with first-year Tuscola softball coach Halle Kerns:
➜ 1. My favorite sports teams are … the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers.
➜ 2. Three coaches I’d like to have dinner with are … Patty Gasso, Kim Mulkey and Mike McDaniel.
➜ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … repeating myself.