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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Illinois coach Bret Bielema and his team were fired up in the locker room after a 21-17 upset of South Carolina on New Year’s Eve at the Citrus Bowl. Bielema will join The News-Gazette sportswriters on ‘Monday Night SportsTalk,’ at the Esquire in downtown Champaign this upcoming Monday.
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. Want a chance to see the coach who led Illinois football to its first 10-win season in 23 years this past season? You’re in luck. Bret Bielema will be our guest for ‘Monday Night SportsTalk,’ at the Esquire in downtown Champaign, with the show starting at 5 p.m. and running until 6 p.m.
➜ 2. The good recruiting news for Bielema and Co. continued on Tuesday when massive 6-foot-7, 310-pound Richland County offensive lineman Casey Thomann verbally committed to an Illini recruiting class that is a top-five recruiting class. Not just in the Big Ten. But in the country.
➜ 3. Thomann joins Lincoln-Way East outside linebacker Jacob Alexander and DeKalb wide receiver Davon Grant as in-state commits in the Illini’s 2026 class.
Kasparas Jakucionis makes a layup in front of Michigan forward Will Tschetter during the second half of Sunday’s game at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. Jakucionis and the Illini rolled to a 93-73 win against the 15th-ranked Wolverines.
Numbers game: 65
points Kasparas Jakucionis needs to become the all-time leading freshman scorer in Illinois men’s basketball history. Cory Bradford holds the record with 494 points during the 1998-99 season. Jakucionis ranks fifth with 430 points before Friday night’s game against Purdue. Ayo Dosunmu (442 points in 2018-19), Kiwane Garris (446 points in 1993-94) and Deon Thomas (452 points in 1990-91) stand between him and Bradford’s mark.
Keison Peoples and the Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin boys’ basketball team brings a 32-1 record into its Class 2A sectional semifinal game on Wednesday night.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Illinois at Ohio State men’s tennis. The 5 p.m. match on Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio, doesn’t count towards the Big Ten standings, but it does provide a good litmus test for the 20th-ranked Illini (6-3) going up against the third-ranked Buckeyes (10-2) on their home court.
➜ 2. Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin vs. Southland College Prep Charter boys’ basketball. BHRA (32-1) tries to keep its season intact during a Class 2A sectional semifinal game in Peotone that tips off at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
➜ 3. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley vs. Schlarman boys’ basketball. The Class 1A sectional semifinal game between the Falcons (20-12) and Hilltoppers (17-10) is set for a 7 p.m. start on Wednesday in Colfax.
Ridgeview baseball coach Andy Malinowski.
Coach’s corner
Three questions with Ridgeview baseball coach Andy Malinowski, whose Mustangs are set to open the season March 17 against Unity Christian:
âžœ 1. My favorite sports team is … the Chicago Cubs.
âžœ 2. Three coaches I’d like to have dinner with are … Joe Maddon, Don Baylor and John Wooden.
âžœ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … players not hustling.