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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Illinois running back Aidan Laughery is lifted up by offensive lineman J.C. Davis as quarterback Luke Altmyer, tight end Carson Goda, wide receiver Pat Bryant and tight end Tanner Arkin join them to celebrate in the end zone after Laughery scored one of his three rushing touchdowns on Saturday in a 38-28 Illini victory against Northwestern at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. Illinois football finds out its bowl destination Sunday. And it’ll likely head to the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla., when the matchups are announced. A New Year’s Eve mid-afternoon kickoff against an SEC opponent. Pretty ideal.
➜ 2. Wrestling school? Illinois has a ways to go in catching Penn State, Iowa and other Big Ten teams on the mat. But the Illini remained unbeaten with a 34-3 win against Indiana in their Big Ten opener on Friday evening at the Big Ten Fan Fest in downtown Indianapolis (More, B-3).
➜ 3. Ayo Dosunmu looking like he did at Illinois on Thursday night for the Bulls with a 27-point, 10-rebound, 11-assist triple-double in a 139-124 road win against the San Antonio Spurs.
Illinois quarterback Jeff George (11) stuffs the ball in the face of Virginia defensive end Ray Savage (56) after Savage made a late hit on George after the ball was called dead in the first quarter during Citrus Bowl game, Jan. 1, 1990 in Orlando, Florida. Offsetting penalties were called against both teams in the incident. Illinois defeated Virginia 31-21. (AP Photo/Craig Bailey)
Numbers game: 2
wins and losses Illinois football has in bowl games in Florida. Both wins in the Sunshine State for the Illini happened against Virginia: a 31-21 victory against the Cavaliers in the 1990 Citrus Bowl in Orlando and a 63-21 rout against Virginia in the 1999 Micronpc.com Bowl in Miami. The two losses both happened in Tampa, a 30-0 setback against Clemson in the 1991 Hall of Fame Bowl and a 19-10 loss to Mississippi State in the 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl.
Cori Allen, Kendall Bostic and Hayven Smith have all helped the Illinois women’s basketball team to the No. 21 ranking in the Associated Press poll.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Illinois at Ohio State women’s basketball. A decade has almost passed since the last time Illinois beat Ohio State. A Top 25 matchup tips off at 3 p.m. Sunday between the No. 21 Illini (7-1) and No. 12 Buckeyes (7-0) from Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
➜ 2. Parkland vs. Missouri State-West Plains men’s basketball. The visiting Cobras (10-0) put their undefeated record on the line at 1 p.m. Sunday against the Grizzlies (4-7) in St. Louis.
➜ 3. Mt. Zion at Mahomet-Seymour boys’ basketball. A 2:30 p.m. tip on Saturday for the host Bulldogs against one of the state’s top Class 3A programs in Mt. Zion, which placed fourth in state last year.
Coach’s corner
Three questions with first-year Armstrong-Potomac boys’ basketball coach Caleb Gossett, who also coaches the Trojans’ boys’ golf team in the fall:
âžœ 1. My favorite sports team is … the Illini.
âžœ 2. Three coaches I’d like to have dinner with are … Brad Underwood, Gregg Popovich and Nick Saban.
âžœ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … bringing bad energy or selfishness to the team.