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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Verdell Jones III, left, with brother Clayton
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. The Illinois-Indiana rivalry takes center stage at the Esquire for ‘Monday Night SportsTalk,’ on WDWS 1400-AM. Former Champaign Central standouts Verdell Jones III (who played at Indiana) and hopefully his younger brother, Clayton Jones (who played at Illinois), are scheduled to be our guests from 5-6 p.m. in downtown Champaign.
➜ 2. Also on the upcoming docket for ‘Monday Night SportsTalk,’ at the Esquire on Jan. 20: Illinois men’s golf coach Mike Small and his dad, former Illini men’s basketball standout Bill Small.
➜ 3. Congrats to St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ basketball player Coy Taylor and Mahomet-Seymour girls’ basketball player Reese Gallier. The duo is our latest high school Athletes of the Week. Read more about them in Monday’s paper.
Morez Johnson Jr. scored a career-high 20 points for the Illini on Wednesday night against Penn State.
Numbers game: 87.9
points the Illinois men’s basketball team is averaging this season. That was good for sixth in the country entering Thursday night’s games, with only Auburn (87.9), Samford (88.7), Kentucky (88.8), Iowa (89.9) and Alabama (90.9) ahead of them. During the Illini’s five-game win streak, they’re averaging 95.6 points.
Illinois wrestling coach Mike Poeta, middle, will try to keep his No. 11 Illini team unbeaten when they host No. 5 Ohio State on Friday night at Huff Hall in Champaign.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Southern Cal at Illinois men’s basketball. Beat the Trojans on Saturday in a Big Ten game that tips at 11 a.m. at State Farm Center in Champaign and the 13th-ranked Illini will have won their first four games in January for only the second time in Brad Underwood’s eight seasons at Illinois. The 2021-22 Illini team is the only other Underwood team to achieve that.
➜ 2. Ohio State at Illinois wrestling. A chance for the No. 11 Illini (6-0, 1-0 Big Ten) to secure a win against the fifth-ranked Buckeyes (8-0) at 7 p.m. Friday at Huff Hall in Champaign.
➜ 3. Illini Open. The Illinois indoor track and field season gets underway at 11 a.m. Saturday at the UI Armory in Champaign.
Clinton wrestling coach Matt Cooper with his wife, Kristen, their son Rhett and their daughter Tatum.
Coach’s corner
Three questions with Clinton boys’ wrestling coach Matt Cooper:
➜ 1. My favorite sports teams are … the Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears.
➜ 2. Three coaches I’d like to have dinner with are … Dan Gable, Cael Sanderson and John Smith.
➜ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … people not trying and wasting talent.