The 20 most-read College Basketball blog posts · Mar 23–29, 2026
Barcelona boss Hansi Flick was full of praise for Joao Cancelo after Sunday’s 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano in La Liga at Camp Nou. Cancelo has been impressing recently for Barcelona, and Flick was thrilled with the Portugal star’s showing as the Catalans picked up another crucuial three points. “I want to congratulate him because […]
HOUSTON — A herd of orange lingered on the court as an empty Toyota Center sat ablaze with a buzz. Behind the crowd, Kylan Boswell bit his jersey, full of unbridled joy, Illinois had knocked out Houston 65-55 to advance to the Elite Eight. But this moment, this milestone, this achievement, was never a guarantee. […]
Joey Bosa & Jadeveon Clowney last edges on board for Colts! Six Big 10 teams in Sweet 16! Pacers tonight in Orlando!
I know, I know, you’ve been glued to college basketball for the past four days — I get it. March Madness is possibly the greatest annual event in all of basketball. The buzzer-beaters, the upsets, and the endless stream of pure hooping goodness are all intoxicating. I won’t deny this. Nor will I plead with […]
HOUSTON – Facing KenPom’s No. 4-ranked defense, one that only gives up 62 points-per-game, Illinois simply had to want it more to come out victorious in an arena filled with Cougar red. It was clear that they did indeed want it more. The Illini walked into Houston and fought for a 65-55 win in a […]
Two years ago, Illinois rolled into the round of 16. They were in a 2 vs. 3 matchup. Their opponent was a top 10ish program with a top 10ish coach. It was described as a matchup of the potent Illinois offense against its opponent’s elite defense. Two years ago, Illinois had a dominant superstar guard […]
ONE MORE DAY OF BASKETBALL! Because of the one day offset of the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, we get EIGHT MORE GAMES with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the docket for the day, all in the women’s NCAA tournament. ESPN varies things from the way they ran them on Sunday, as we […]
On this episode of “Oskee Talk” I review Illinois’ NCAA Tournament wins over Penn (3:57) and VCU (10:33) as well as call out Brad Underwood’s critics (19:49). I also revisit the Illini’s history with Sweet 16 opponent Houston (28:11), break down the analytics comparing the two sides (33:28) and discuss the matchups I’m most looking […]
The 2025-26 Marquette women’s basketball season came to an end on Selection Sunday when the Golden Eagles were not included in the WBIT or the WNIT fields. That means MU’s last game of the year was actually back on March 7, when they lost 57-44 to Creighton in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament. […]
If it were possibly the nearly play back the last game you played this felt pretty close. When Mizzou played Kentucky, they struggled offensively but put together a run late and found themselves with a late lead. Only to see it all fall apart. The game against Miami was different only because the collapse happened […]
Sitting and feeling the vibe and energy of the Sweet 16 / Elite 8 at SAP Center in San Jose Thursday night; somehow this longtime Mountain West writer felt a bit detached. So detached watching Arizona run away with a powerful 109-88 win over Arkansas that the daydreamer side crept into full imagination mode at […]
Tonight on the Five Heart Podcast, we will be here after Nebraska’s Sweet Sixteen match-up against Iowa. We had the privilege of celebrating not one but two tournament wins together as a community. The Huskers beat Troy last Thursday and advanced to the Round of Sixteen with the win over Vanderbilt. Iowa upset top-seed Florida […]
The Iowa Hawkeyes (24-12) are heading to the Elite 8 after a 9-0 run with under 5:00 left to get their first lead of the game and keep it against the rival Nebraska Cornhuskers, winning 77-71. It’s the first time they’ve made the Elite 8 since the 1987 team in Tom Davis’ first season. They’re […]
Michigan power forward Morez Johnson is coming home, again. A native of suburban Riverdale, IL Johnson attended St. Rita, on the south side of the city, before transferring and then graduating from Thornton high school- where his coach was former NFL wide receiver and high school basketball star Tai Streets. After his high school career […] The post Michigan Forward Morez Johnson Set for Second Homecoming Tournament appeared first on The Sports Bank .
On March 20, 2022, the Illini lost a 68-53 game against Kelvin Sampson’s Houston Cougars. The loss, while expected, was particularly galling. The loss came against a Houston team built to beat teams like Illinois. And let’s be clear: this game was one of the first attempts by Brad Underwood to build a roster that […]
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Not the result you hope for, but nonetheless, what a season from Illinois. The orange and blue showed a lot of heart on Monday night in Nashville. After a slow start out of the gate, the Illini were pesky and took what they could get against the No. 2 seed Vanderbilt Commodores. […]
Despite a really slow start to the game going down 11-0, Notre Dame kept their composure and fought back to take control and beat Ohio State, 83-73. The early minutes acted more like a wake up call, and it wasn’t just Hannah Hidalgo taking over (although she was insanely good). Four other Notre Dame players […]
Remember when Yaxel Lendeborg claimed Kentucky offered him $7-to-9 million in the last transfer portal cycle? And that he turned it down for way less to play for Michigan? It turns out that everyone with any sense who thought ‘that’s probably not true’ was correct. During his Monday radio show, Mark Pope denied the claim […]
Let me start with the fact that I’m too young to remember much from Illinois’ run to the national championship game in 2005. I was eight years old, and while I was a fan of the Illini, I didn’t really understand what was going on. The 20 years since have been a mix of good […]
How to Watch No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 2 Houston (NCAA Tournament Sweet 16) Game Time: ~9:05 p.m. CT Thursday TV Channel: TBS/TruTV Online Streaming: March Madness Live Odds: Illinois +2.5 (FanDuel) Quick Hits: Illinois Fighting Illini (26-8, 15-5 Big Ten) Head Coach: Brad Underwood (9th season) Last Game: Illinois 76, VCU 55 Gameday Reading: Houston Cougars (30-6, […]