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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Mike Pearson in The News-Gazette newsroom (Jim Rossow/The News-Gazette).
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. Resident Illini historian Mike Pearson continues to deliver each Saturday with his ‘Illini Legends, Lists & Lore.’
➜ 2. The latest installment delves into the history of Illinois men’s basketball coach Brad Underwood. Underwood celebrates his 61st birthday on Saturday, and Pearson dives into accomplishments from Underwood’s playing career at McPherson High School in central Kansas and then in college at Hardin-Simmons, Independence Community College and Kansas State.
➜ 3. Underwood will spend his birthday focused on Illinois trying to beat No. 1 Tennessee. Good news: Illinois is 1-0 on Underwood’s birthday, beating Old Dominion 69-55 on Dec. 14, 2019.
Brad Underwood greets fans before Tuesday night’s game against Wisconsin at State Farm Center in Champaign.
Numbers game: 15,544
fans who will be crammed into State Farm Center on Saturday for the third sellout this season when the Illini host top-ranked Tennessee. The latest sellout in Champaign marks the 41st during Brad Underwood’s tenure that started in 2017.
Former Illini Tommy DeVito will start his second game of the season at quarterback for the New York Giants on Sunday.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Tennessee at Illinois men’s basketball. A chance to beat No. 1 team in the country. A sold-out State Farm Center that will feature alternate sections wearing orange and blue to stripe the venue. A national TV audience on Fox. What’s not love about the 4:30 p.m. tip on Saturday?
➜ 2. Southern Indiana at Illinois women’s basketball. First meeting between these two teams happens at 1 p.m. Sunday at State Farm Center. Southern Indiana is in its third season as a Division I program.
➜ 3. Baltimore Ravens at New York Giants. Folks in C-U might want to keep tabs on Sunday’s game to see how former Illini Tommy DeVito fares in his second start this season for the Giants.
Coach’s corner
Three questions with Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin wrestling coach Phil Benjamin:
➜ 1. My favorite sports team is … the Pittsburgh Steelers.
➜ 2. Three coaches I’d like to have dinner with are … Dan Gable, Mike Tomlin and John Madden.
➜ 3. My biggest pet peeves are … athletes that want to specialize in one sport. I believe, especially in smaller schools, athletes should be involved in multiple sports.