Dainja, Mayer power Illinois past Michigan State, 75-66

Dain Dainja was an inside force Michigan State had no answer for and Matthew Mayer hit clutch 3s in the second half as Illinois ended the Spartans seven-game win streak with a 75-66 win on Friday night.

Shannon leads Illini over Nebraska 76-50 with double-double

Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Illinois to a 76-50 win over Nebraska on Tuesday night.

No. 3 Ohio State avoids upset scare, downs Illinois 87-81

Taylor Mikesell scored a game-high 31 points as No. 3 Ohio State erased a halftime deficit and avoided an upset with an 87-81 over Illinois Sunday.

Terrence Shannon, Coleman Hawkins lead Illini past No. 14 Badgers, 79-69

Getting good performances from Shannon and Hawkins in the same game is a vital development, though Brad Underwood still faces a significant challenge to right the ship to save a season with lofty expectations.

Northwestern beats Illinois with big second-half run

Chase Audige scored 21 points and added four steals and Northwestern won for the sixth time in seven games, defeating Illinois 73-60 on Wednesday night.

Mississippi St rallies to win ReliaQuest Bowl against Illini

Massimo Biscardi made a 27-yard tiebreaking field goal with four seconds left, Marcus Banks returned a fumble 60 yards for a touchdown on the game’s last play and No. 24 Mississippi State rallied to beat Illinois 19-10 on Monday in the ReliaQuest Bowl in the Bulldogs’ first game since coach Mike Leach’s death.

Brown scores 31, Missouri upsets No. 16 Illinois 93-71

Kobe Brown set career highs with 31 points and eight assists, and D’Moi Hodge added 20 points to lead Missouri to a 93-71 victory over No. 16 Illinois in their annual neutral site contest Thursday night.

Illini head coach Bret Bielema signs new 6-year contract

University of Illinois head coach Bret Bielema signed a new six-year contract Thursday after leading the Illini to an 8-4 regular season.

Purdue names Illinois coordinator Ryan Walters as new head coach

Purdue hired Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters as its new coach Tuesday, a change of direction for the program dubbed the “Cradle of Quarterbacks” and one best known for its high-scoring, explosive offenses.

Funk, Dread hot from 3 as Penn State beats No. 17 Illinois

Andrew Funk and Myles Dread combined for 11 3-pointers to give Penn State a 74-59 win over No. 17 Illinois on Saturday.

No. 17 Illinois rallies late, beats No. 2 Texas 85-78 in OT

Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 12 of his 16 points in overtime, including the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3:34 remaining, and No. 17 Illinois rallied to hand second-ranked Texas its first loss of the season, 85-78 on Tuesday night in the Jimmy V Classic.

Hawkins has triple-double, No. 16 Illinois thumps Syracuse

Coleman Hawkins had 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and No. 16 Illinois thumped Syracuse 73-44 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Tuesday night.

Illinois rips Northwestern, falls short in Big Ten West bid

Illinois entered with a chance to win the Big Ten West and advance to the conference championship for the first time. However, Purdue defeated Indiana 30-16 to win the division title and will play Michigan at Indianapolis next Saturday.

Clark, Melendez lead Illinois in 92-59 rout of Lindenwood

Skyy Clark scored a career-high 19 points, RJ Melendez had a career-high 17 and No. 16 Illinois cruised past Lindenwood 92-59 on Friday night.

No. 3 Michigan beats Illinois 19-17 after Blake Corum hurts knee

The undefeated Wolverines played much of the second half without star running back Blake Corum, who grabbed his left knee after being tackled just before halftime.

Shannon scores 29, No. 15 Illinois rallies past No. 8 UCLA

Terrence Shannon Jr. made 8 of 9 3-pointers and scored 29 points with 10 rebounds, and No. 19 Illinois rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat No. 8 UCLA 79-70 on Friday night.