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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Reigning state champion Hunter Eastin and the Unity wrestling team begins the posteason on Saturday at the Class 1A Monticello Regional.
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. Postseason moments on the local high school and middle school sports scene. Area boys’ wrestlers compete across the state on Saturday in IHSA regional action, needing a top-three finish to move on to next weekend’s sectional tournament.
➜ 2. Three teams area high school girls’ basketball teams — Mahomet-Seymour in Class 3A, Salt Fork and Cissna Park in 1A — are No. 1 seeds in the upcoming IHSA postseason. Pairings were released on Friday, with The News-Gazette’s latest area Top 10 in today’s paper.
➜ 3. The seventh-grade boys’ basketball teams at Champaign’s Holy Cross and at Monticello continue their pursuit of an IESA state title on Saturday in their respective state tournaments.
Kofi Cockburn returns to Champaign soon.
Numbers game: 1,546
career points Kofi Cockburn scored during his three seasons with the Illinois men’s basketball team from 2019-22. The former All-American big man, who is 12th in scoring in Illini history, will once again be the big man on campus in Champaign on Tuesday night when his No. 21 jersey is honored and raised to the rafters inside State Farm Center. The Illini (15-8, 7-6 Big Ten) welcome in UCLA (17-6) for the 7 p.m. tip as the Bruins play their first game in Champaign since 1964.
Genesis Bryant and the Illinois women’s basketball team won its fifth straight game on Thursday night against Northwestern.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. No. 23 Illinois at Minnesota men’s basketball. Will the Illini have everyone at full strength? Or will the Big Ten road losing streak hit four games with Illinois playing at Williams Arena in Minneapolis? Find out Saturday night.
➜ 2. Illinois at Wisconsin women’s basketball. Will the Illini win their sixth straight Big Ten game? Or will the Illini stumble against the struggling Badgers? Find out Sunday afternoon.
➜ 3. Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Will the Chiefs make history and win a third straight Super Bowl? Or will former Illini Sydney Brown and his Eagles win the franchise’s first title since 2018? Find out Sunday night.
Zach Monk and his son, Nolan, after Monk won his 100th game at Iroquois West last Saturday.
Coach’s corner
Three questions with Iroquois West boys’ basketball coach Zach Monk:
âžœ 1. My favorite sports team is … the Chicago White Sox.
âžœ 2. Three coaches I’d like to have dinner with are … Bob Hurley Sr. (greatest high school coach of all time), Brad Underwood (his players always give maximum effort) and Mike Krzyzewski (for his ability to run a successful program).
âžœ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … when players don’t know the plays.