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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Luke Altmyer and his Illinois football teammates will face South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31.
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. All the signs Sunday morning seemed to point to an Illinois-Alabama matchup in the Citrus Bowl when the College Football Playoff committee left the Crimson Tide out of the 12-team field. But the Illini will get South Carolina in 22 days at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
➜ 2. Don’t go looking too far for recent history when the Illini (9-3) and Gamecocks (9-3) have played on a football field. Because it’s never happened before, with the New Year’s Eve kickoff the first between the two programs.
➜ 3. Illinois back in a bowl game for the second time in four seasons means the Big Ten will have 12 teams playing postseason football. Including four — Oregon, Penn State, Ohio State and Indiana — in the CFP.
Illinois football after winning the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl on New Year’s Eve in 2011.
Numbers game: 4
previous times Illinois football has played a bowl game on New Year’s Eve. The Illini will get a shot at their fifth at 2 p.m. on Dec. 31 against South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl. Illinois is 2-2 on Dec. 31, beating UCLA 20-14 at the 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl and East Carolina 30-0 at the 1994 Liberty Bowl. A 31-29 loss to Army at the 1985 Peach Bowl and a 6-3 loss to UCLA at the 1991 John Hancock Bowl also happened.
Brad Underwood and his Illinois men’s basketball program will try to avoid a second straight Big Ten loss to open up league play on Tuesday night when the Illini host Wisconsin. Tip-off is 8 p.m. at State Farm Center in Champaign.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Wisconsin at Illinois men’s basketball. Both Big Ten teams will drop in the Associated Press Top 25 poll when it is released on Monday, but Tuesday’s 8 p.m. tip at State Farm Center is still crucial for both the Badgers (8-2, 0-1 Big Ten) and Illini (6-2, 0-1).
➜ 2. Tennessee at Illinois men’s basketball. Speaking of the AP poll, it seems likely Tennessee (8-0) will vault to No. 1 on Monday and carry that ranking next to its name before a 4:30 p.m. tip this Saturday at State Farm Center in Champaign.
➜ 3. Bradley at Illinois women’s basketball. The 6 p.m. tip on Thursday marks the start of a five-game homestand the rest of the month for the Illini (7-1).
From left, Susan Kentner, Jenni McConkey, Mallory Ames and Stacey Sackett make up the BHRA volleyball coaching staff.
Coach’s corner
Three questions with Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin volleyball coach Jenni McConkey:
➜ 1. My favorite sports team is … the Nebraska volleyball team.
➜ 2. Three coaches I’d like to have dinner with are … Karch Kiraly, Nick Saban and John Cook.
➜ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … a tie between catching a set you don’t like in warmups and saying, ‘I can’t.’