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The Champaign Room

https://www.thechampaignroom.com/ | 325 entries published

A Fighting Illini community since 2012

Latest Entries

Illinois deputy athletic director leaving for Oklahoma

Josh Whitman’s top assistant is leaving for a higher post. Oklahoma announced Friday that it is hiring Illinois deputy athletic director and chief operating officer Roger Denny to be the university’s next athletic director. According to ESPN, Denny’s legal background and skillset for the “new era” made him attractive for the Sooners. “Oklahoma has a […]

about 23 hours ago | 0 reads

What Illinois needs from Stojakovic with Boswell out

The Illini are hoping the junior can take it to another level on both ends of the floor with their starting PG out. When I first heard about Kylan Boswell’s hand injury, my mind immediately shifted to Mihailo Petrovic. Which makes a bit of sense, considering he is the backup point guard to Boswell, and […]

2 days ago | 0 reads

Who Illinois needs to step up in Boswell’s absence

Tuesday, Brad Underwood broke news that senior guard Kylan Boswell suffered a fractured right hand in practice and will miss three to four weeks. The hope is he will return by mid-February. Boswell was having a great season, averaging 31.7 minutes, with 14.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists. He has been a stalwart on […]

2 days ago | 0 reads

How Illinois will navigate without Kylan Boswell

After receiving news Tuesday that guard Kylan Boswell will miss several weeks with a fractured hand, Illinois finds itself facing major questions about how it will navigate the upcoming month without its veteran leader. Boswell is expected to miss several weeks and a return to action in mid-February is likely for the guard. Before being […]

3 days ago | 0 reads

How to Watch Illinois at Purdue: Game Time, TV Channel, Online Streaming and Odds

How to Watch Illinois at Purdue Game Time: 2 p.m. Saturday TV Channel: Fox Online Streaming: FoxSportsGO Odds: N/A (Illinois 35% Chance To Win – ESPN Matchup Predictor) Quick Hits: No. 11 Illinois Fighting Illini (16-3, 7-1 Big Ten) Head Coach: Brad Underwood (9th season) Last Game: Illinois 89, Maryland 70 Gameday Reading: No. 4 Purdue Boilermakers (17-2, 7-1 […]

3 days ago | 0 reads

Illinois adds 2027 non-conference home game

The future schedules are starting to be filled. Illinois announced Wednesday that it added a home game against Delaware to the 2027 schedule. The first-ever meeting with the Blue Hens will be Sept. 11, 2027 at Memorial Stadium. The other two non-conference showdowns in 2027 will be against Eastern Illinois (Aug. 28) and Missouri (TBA […]

3 days ago | 0 reads

Illinois comfortably blows by Maryland despite Boswell’s absence

CHAMPAIGN — An absent Kylan Boswell sported a white sweatsuit during Illinois’ matchup against Maryland on Wednesday. His absence is due to an untimely fractured bone in his right hand that will sideline him for at least a month. Unfortunate for Illinois, considering how close this iteration of the team was to firmly settling into […]

3 days ago | 0 reads

Bielema slams voters after final AP poll released

Indiana completed its perfect season Monday night in winning its first national championship. No shock here, but the Hoosiers finished No. 1 in the final AP poll of the season when it was released on Tuesday. Go all the way down the top 25… and you won’t find Illinois, who finished with nine wins and […]

4 days ago | 1 read

Kylan Boswell expected to miss multiple weeks with fractured hand

Illinois senior guard Kylan Boswell fractured a bone in his right hand during Monday’s practice and is expected to miss multiple weeks, per Illinois head coach Brad Underwood. Underwood expects Boswell to return to the court in mid-February. “It’s the ‘next man up’ mentality with our team,” Underwood said Tuesday. “It’s exciting that we’ve been […]

4 days ago | 0 reads

TCR Bracketology 4.0: Illini Taking Care of Business

While beating two teams in the 80s in NET ranking comfortably but not convincingly this week might not seem like much, those kinds of workmanlike wins are necessary to maintain a high seed. Look around at what else happened this week, and we can appreciate the Illini’s effort more. There was no shame in Iowa […]

4 days ago | 0 reads

How Illinois factors into Big Ten title race

We are more than a quarter of the way through Big Ten conference play, and five teams have separated themselves as legitimate regular-season title contenders. Michigan, Purdue, Nebraska, Michigan State, and Illinois all have zero or one loss in league play and will be battling to be crowned champion. Illinois won a share of the […]

5 days ago | 0 reads

Keaton Wagler’s ascent has keyed Illinois’ surge

On this episode of ’Oskee Talk’ I’m joined by Pleas Honeywood & Brandt Dolce to review Illinois’ victories against Northwestern & Minnesota (5:00) and the Illini exceeding early expectations (21:08). We also discuss Illinois’ veteran players deferring to Keaton Wagler (24:16), the freshman phenom’s rapid ascent (27:42), and the simplest explanation for the Illini’s 7-game […]

5 days ago | 0 reads

Illinois reaches highest AP poll position since November

Heading into a big week, Illinois has reached its highest AP poll position since November. The Illini checked in Monday at No. 11, up from No. 13 last week. Illinois has gotten as high as No. 8 this season in mid-November after an undefeated start to the season. At 15-3 and on a seven-game winning […]

5 days ago | 0 reads

Three takeaways from Illinois’ seven-game winning streak

The Illinois Fighting Illini have won seven straight games for the first time since March 2024. Since Dec. 14, no team has played better basketball than Illinois according to Bart Torvik’s T-Rank. Here are my key takeaways from this incredible stretch of hoops. Illinois has a capable defense After surrendering 83 points in a home […]

6 days ago | 0 reads

How to Watch Illinois vs. Maryland: Game Time, TV Channel, Online Streaming and Odds

How to Watch Illinois vs. Maryland Game Time: 6 p.m. Wednesday TV Channel: BTN Online Streaming: FoxSportsGO Odds: N/A (Illinois 94% Chance To Win – ESPN Matchup Predictor) Quick Hits: Illinois Fighting Illini (15-3, 6-1 Big Ten) Head Coach: Brad Underwood (9th season) Last Game: Illinois 77, Maryland 67 Gameday Reading: Maryland Terrapins (8-10, 1-6 Big Ten) Head Coach: […]

6 days ago | 0 reads

See how Illinois celebrated Andrej Stojakovic’s career milestone

In Illinois’ 10-point win over Minnesota on Saturday, junior guard Andrej Stojakovic recorded a significant milestone: his 1,000th career point. And that meant there had to be a postgame celebration. Brad Underwood was asked about the water bottle celebration after the game, and he said Tomislav Ivisic was behind the fun. No shock there for […]

6 days ago | 0 reads

Illinois adds second commitment in 2027 class

And just like that, Brad Underwood has secured his second commitment in the class of 2027. Neuqua Valley’s Mason Martin announced his commitment to Illinois on Friday in a post online. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Martin is averaging 19 points this season for 16-1 Neuqua Valley. They report he’s already made 62 three-pointers in […]

8 days ago | 0 reads

The triple curse of Andrej Stojakovic

Andrej Stojakovic was triple-cursed before he signed with the Illini. His last name conjures up memories of his father, Predrag (Peja). Peja was a 6-foot-10ish sharpshooter for the Sacramento Kings that tormented the Shaq/Kobe Lakers. He was the closest thing the NBA had to a true replacement for the late “Petro,” Drazen Petrovic. He shot […]

8 days ago | 0 reads

Illinois falls short vs. No. 8 Michigan in Ann Arbor

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Despite a third-quarter push, the Illini fall short against Michigan. It was never going to be easy visited No. 8 Michigan, and the Wolverines proved their ranking Thursday night. After a tune-up win on Sunday, the Illini headed on the road on a mission to get their second AP Top 10 […]

9 days ago | 1 read

Illinois DB Xavier Scott returning for 2026 season

X-Man is back. Xavier Scott announced Thursday night that he will return to Illinois for the 2026 season. Scott, a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist in 2024, missed most of the 2025 season after suffering an injury against Western Michigan. He joined the Illini in 2022 as a freshman and has played 39 total games in […]

9 days ago | 1 read