Gainesville, Fla., – The No. 21 Florida Gators men’s basketball team cruised to a 93-68 win over Southern Illinois on Friday to stay undefeated in the 2024-25 season. They used a hot night offensively from senior Alijah Martin and Thomas Haugh to help ease to the finish line in this one. 

Florida started this game positively compared to their previous outings. They came out the gates easily putting the ball through the net, resulting in an early 9-2 lead over Southern Illinois by the 16-minute mark. 

However, things began to unravel over the next five to six minutes of the game. During this span, the Gators shot just 2-for-11 from the field, which allowed their opponents to cut the Gators’ lead to just one point. 

Fortunately, they began to find their rhythm and they did it in a very loud way. 

With around eight minutes left in the half until about the last two minutes, the Gators went on a 22-2 run with some crowd-pleasing plays from Martin and Alex Condon along the way. The first one came from a steal by Martin that was dished off to Denzel Aberdeen who then lobbed it to Condon for the easy slam in transition.

Then, on the next possession for Southern Illinois, the Gators came up with another steal that quickly made its way into Martin’s hands for a high-flying slam that got the crowd on its feet. 

After this big run, the Gators found themselves leading 41-17 over their opponents. 

This run really blew it wide open for Florida and by the final whistle of the first half, they were leading 46-25 over Southern Illinois. 

The Gators were led in this half by Martin and Thomas Haugh. Martin contributed 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. He was also 4-for-7 from 3. Haugh – the more surprising standout from the first half – was having his way offensively as well. The sophomore was 4-for-7 overall and 3-for-4 from 3. He also made both of his free throw attempts in the half, which gave him 13 first-half points.

The beginning of the half was dull for the Gators. The offense didn’t make its first basket until the 18-minute mark and it was a layup from Walter Clayton Jr. This stagnant play was short lived though. 

That is because Martin came alive for the Gators once again. The senior went unconscious from deep, hitting four consecutive 3’s for the Gators that included one from the logo with the shot clock expiring. By the end of his scoring tirade, the Gators led 67-38 over their opposition. 

Then, not too long after this, the Gator fans got their next highlight play. This time, it came from Haugh. The wing came flying in over the defense and got big for a putback slam to extend the Gators’ lead to 30. 

From here, the Gators were on cruise control. Southern Illinois had some stretches offensively, but never really threatened to come back in this one. In the end, Florida won 93-68 over Southern Illinois.

Alijah Martin was unstoppable in this one. He ended the game with 32 points on 11-for-19 shooting and 8-for-13 from behind the arc. He also brought down 8 rebounds and dished out five assists in this one. 

Also, Martin’s eight 3’s gave him a new career high in this category. Any time he let it fly, it felt like it was going in, he said after the game. 

“I just felt like every one of them was going in,” Martin said. 

Haugh, on the other hand, actually set a career-high in scoring against Southern Illinois. He poured in 19 points, shooting 6-for-10 overall and 3-for-5 from 3. He also was perfect from the line, hitting all four of his free throw attempts. 

His performance from behind the arc and at the charity stripe was great on the night and these were something he worked all summer on he said. 

“I worked on (3-point shooting) a lot,” Haugh said. “I didn’t shoot the ball the greatest at the beginning of the year, but teammates still trusted me. And just like starting to hopefully get into a rhythm here cause all the work hopefully going to show soon.”

It’s a long break until the Gators return to action. Their next game isn’t until next Thursday when they take on Wake Forest at the ESPN Events Invitational. That game is slated for a 2:30 p.m. tipoff in Orlando and will be televised on ESPN. 

A new report calls for making state standardized tests more useful for teachers and students and for the state to help school districts pay to repair and renovate school buildings, among other sweeping recommendations.

Officials from several state education associations, including the Illinois Association of School Boards and the Illinois Association of Principals, came together to develop Vision 2030. It tackles four areas: keeping students safe, getting high-quality educators into the classroom, enhancing postsecondary success and improving how the state evaluates schools.

The report offers up specific suggestions the authors hope will help shape policy for years to come.

It builds on its predecessor, Vision 2020, which was the first report of its kind. That laid the groundwork for the state to reform the way it distributes money to schools — from an outdated formula to one of the most equitable in the country, said Kristopher Monn, executive director of the Illinois Association of Business Officials.

Vision 2030 says the state should continue pumping an additional $350 million into the “evidence-based” funding formula, as it has since 2018. The report asserts school districts need that kind of predicability when it comes to funding for building repairs.

“We have not made significant investments, year over year, in establishing equitable statewide funding for capital and safety needs,” Monn said. “Some of the suggestions are increasing access to state maintenance grants and perhaps exploring a statewide sales tax, similar to some county sales taxes.”

The officials also recommend a host of changes to the state’s assessment and school rating system. Currently, students only take one set of tests at the end of the year; ratings, such as exemplary or commendable, are based heavily on the results of those exams. While students take the tests in the spring, schools don’t get the results until the fall.

The delay in getting the scores “really impacts the utility of those results and makes it difficult for us to make any real, quality decisions about improving our schools and the potential outcomes for our kids,” said Jason Leahy, executive director of the Illinois Principals Association.

The report calls for teachers to get the results more quickly, perhaps in real time, even if they are preliminary.

Leahy said the officials would like some flexibility in school ratings, so they are not weighted so heavily on test results and can factor in other features that communities believe are important.

The officials also want to make sure the state standards used to determine if students are proficient in reading and math are in line with national norms. A study found that Illinois’ proficiency standards are some of the highest in the nation. Leahy said that is important to him as a parent.

The education leaders also said state mandates need to be streamlined. The school code has doubled in size since 2000, and many new rules come with associated costs. Leahy said every new mandate takes away from something else the school district is focused on or paying for, so lawmakers need to be careful.

Sarah Karp covers education for WBEZ. Follow her on X @WBEZeducation and @sskedreporter.

Illinois (7-3) jumped out to a 4-0 start with quality wins over Kansas and Nebraska before running into a stout Penn State defense that held the Illini to 34 rushing yards and 219 total yards in the contest. They barely escaped with a 50-49 win over 1-9 Purdue (25%-win expectancy) and beat an offense-averse Michigan team, before getting destroyed by Oregon 38-9 and losing a coin-flip one score game to Minnesota. The Illini have been fairly projectable thus far, losing to every team they faced with a winning record and beating every program who is currently .500 or worse. Their offense is built around a conservative passing attack that sacrifices chunk plays (107th in pass explosiveness) in favor of consistency (34th in pass success rate) and security, with Illinois ranking 2nd in FBS with a 1.0% interception rate. The biggest issue on D is a morose run defense that ranks 130th in rushing success rate and 134th in stuff rate. Fortunately, their secondary has held up well, ranking 27th in yards per successful pass play allowed while restricting opponents to just 5.4 yards per completion (102nd).

The Scarlet Knights (6-4) barnstormed through their early season schedule with notable victories over @Virginia Tech and Washington, opening with a 4-0 record. However, since then Rutgers dropped one-score decisions against @Nebraska and UCLA in addition to getting crushed by USC and Wisconsin to even their record at 4-4. A much-needed Week 10 Bye helped RU recalibrate, as they proceeded to beat Minnesota and @Maryland the last two weeks to achieve bowl eligibility. Offensively RB Kyle Monangai heads up a decent run game that ranks 16th in YAC and 54th in EPA/rush but struggles to hit big plays ranking 103rd in yards per successful rush. Conversely, the Scarlet Knights are allowing a brutal 50.6% rushing success rate (126th in FBS) while ranking 125th in EPA/rush allowed. Despite a porous front line, Rutgers is still fielding the 32nd defense in FBS according to SP+.

NBC Sports has all the latest info and analysis you need, including how to tune in for kickoff, odds from BetMGM, player news and updates, and of course our predictions and best bets for the game from our staff of experts.

Listen to the B1G Talk podcast with Todd Blackledge and Noah Eagle for the most compelling storylines across all of college football, with the biggest teams on the rise and the latest rankings!

Game details and how to watch Illinois at Rutgers

Skip

· Date: Saturday, November 23, 2024
· Time: 12:00 AM EST
· Site: SHI Stadium
· City: Piscataway, NJ
· TV/Streaming: Peacock

Want to check out the other games on the College Football schedule this week? We’ve got you covered right here on NBC Sports with all the matchup, venue, game-time and TV/streaming info so you won’t miss any of the action!

Game odds for Illinois at Rutgers

The latest odds as of Friday morning:

• Moneyline: Illinois (-115), Rutgers (-105)
• Spread: Fighting Illini -1
• Over/Under: 47.5 points

This game opened with Rutgers slightly favored at -1 but has since flipped to Illinois -1 with a couple of books taking the leap to -1.5. The moneyline hasn’t moved appreciably from each team’s initial -110 drop, while the 47.5-point game total has ticked up slightly from an open of 47.

NBC Sports Bet Best Bet

NBC Sports Betting Analyst Eric Froton (@CFFroton) thinks:

“I think Illinois is balanced enough on each side of the ball to exploit Rutgers’ defensive weakness. The Illini rarely turn the ball over and do an excellent job of limiting big plays, so I am backing Illinois on the moneyline to beat the Scarlet Knights on the road.”

Listen to the Bet the Edge podcast as hosts Jay Croucher and Drew Dinsick provide listeners with sharp actionable insight, market analysis and statistical data to help bettors gain more information before placing their wagers.

BetMGM College Football Insights: Odds to make Playoffs

Line movement (Open to Now)

• Indiana +15000 to -500
• Tennessee +180 to -135
• Colorado +2000 to -120

Highest Ticket%

• Tennessee 5.0%
• Iowa 4.8%
• Utah 4.8%

Highest Handle%

• Texas 10.1%
• Indiana 6.4%
• Alabama 5.7%

Biggest Liability

Quarterback matchup for Illinois at Rutgers

• Illinois: QB Luke Altymer spent his first two seasons at Ole Miss until it became clear that Jaxson Dart was HC Lane Kiffin’s preferred choice, transferring to Illinois in 2023 and being named starter for the season opener. Dart has taken a step this year, throwing for 2,132 yards, 7.5 YPA (6.9 last year) and a rock solid 18-to-3 ratio (13-to-10 LY). Altmyer’s 75.1 PFF passing grade ranks 56th out of 92 qualifying signal callers, which is a grade on par with notable P5 QBs like Noah Fifita, Nico Iamaleava and Brendan Sorsby. Illinois’ passing attack ranks 34th in success rate (45.3%) and 28th in yards per completion (6.5) under Altmyer’s guidance, offsetting a lackluster run game that ranks 89th in success rate.

• Rutgers: HC Greg Schiano moved on from woeful 2023 starting QB Gavin Wimsatt in favor of transferring in former Minnesota quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis. The change of scenery did wonders for Kaliakmanis, who has improved his yards per attempt average from 6.2-to-7.0 and lowered his pressure-to-sack rate from 20.5% to 14.2%. To put it in perspective, Kaliakmanis boosted his PFF passing grade from 58.2-to-77.9, which ranks 42nd out of 92 FBS qualifiers. RU can achieve a rare 8-win season if they can knock off @Rutgers and @Northwestern in their final two regular season contests.

Trends & recent stats

• Luke Altmyer (ILL) has thrown for first downs on 44% of his pass attempts on third and 10+ yards to go this season– 3rd-best among FBS Quarterbacks; Miami QB Cam Ward leads the nation with a 47.6% third and 10+ conversion rate.
• Illinois has tackled opponents for a loss on just 37 of 334 rushing attempts (11% TFL%) this season– 11th-worst in FBS; Ole Miss leads the nation with a 26.5% TFL rate.
• RU is tackling opponents for a loss on 13.3% of the rush attempts they’ve faced, 56th out of 67 Power Four teams. They are allowing an average of 7.3 yards and an 85% conversion rate in third-and-short situations.
• Rutgers Skill Players have caught just 168 of 297 passes this season, as their 56.6% catch rate amounting to the third-worst mark among Power Conference Teams. Florida State ranks last with a 51.4% catch rate (148 recs on 288 targets).

College Football talk is taking over Bet the Edge every Thursday throughout the season. BET THE EDGE is your source for all things sports betting. Get all of Vaughn Dalzell, Eric Froton, and Brad Thomas’ insights Thursdays at 6AM ET right here or wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.

Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:

• Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
• Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
• Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
• Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
• Eric Froton (@CFFroton)