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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Hunter Eastin of Unity will vie for a second straight IHSA wrestling state title when the state finals begins Thursday afternoon at State Farm Center in Champaign.
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. The IHSA boys’ wrestling state finals begin at noon on Thursday at State Farm Center in Champaign when the first-round matches in Class 1A take place. The iconic venue has hosted the state finals every season since 1967.
➜ 2. The area scene has fared well in Champaign this decade, with local wrestlers winning seven state championships since 2020. Hunter Eastin of Unity will try to become the area’s first back-to-back state champion since former Urbana standout and current Illini Luke Luffman won three straight from 2017-19.
➜ 3. Three weeks from Thursday, the IHSA boys’ basketball state tournament returns to Champaign for the fourth straight year, with games tipping off March 13 at State Farm Center.
Adalia McKenzie is closing in on 1,500 career points at Illinois.
Numbers game: 89
more points Adalia McKenzie needs to reach 1,500 in her Illinois women’s basketball career. The senior guard, who has 1,411 career points and is set to make her 108th start with the No. 25 Illini (21-4, 11-4 Big Ten) when they play at No. 3 UCLA (24-1, 12-1) on Thursday night, is averaging 13.6 points during the current eight-game Big Ten win streak Illinois is on. Only 12 other Illini women’s basketball players have scored at least 1,500 points in their career.
Cooper Flagg and Duke await the Illini on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Illinois vs. No. 3 Duke men’s basketball. Potential No. 1 draft pick Cooper Flagg and the rest of the talented Blue Devils (23-3) await the struggling Illini (17-10) when the two teams play each other for the first time in New York at 7 p.m. Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
➜ 2. Illinois at Texas State baseball. The three-game series starts at 2:30 p.m. Saturday now instead of Friday because of anticipated cold weather in San Marcos, Texas, before the Illini (2-1) and Bobcats (4-0) play a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon .
➜ 3. Belmont at Illinois State women’s basketball. Unity graduate and reigning Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week Elyce Knudsen leads the Redbirds (16-9, 10-4 MVC) before they host the Bruins (16-9, 11-3) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
Iroquois West golf coach Delfin Rogers on the left.
Coach’s corner
Three questions with Iroquois West golf coach Delfin Rogers:
➜ 1. My favorite sports team is … the Illinois men’s basketball team.
➜ 2. Three coaches I’d like to have dinner with are … my high school football coach John Boma, Phil Jackson and Brad Underwood.
➜ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … people using speaker phones in public.