Illinois
Gates Explains How Injuries are Holding Mizzou Back After Loss to Illinois
ST. LOUIS — Dennis Gates’ eyebrows raised when he heard the word choice of “struggles” in a question regarding a recent drop off in perimeter offense for Missouri that was evident in a loss to Illinois.
“You said ‘struggles’?” Gates asked.
“You know, I can’t wait to get healthy as a team,” Gates said to answer the question.
With three of its players injured, Missouri suffered a 91-48 loss to No. 20 Illinois on Monday. It’s the lowest-scoring performance in any game in the Gates era. It’s the lowest-scoring output for Missouri in the series since a matchup in the 1943-44 season.
There’s no way to sugarcoat how poor of a performance it was for the Tigers. The cracks in the foundation that have been popping since the season opener at Howard are continuing to break through even more.
But Gates believes returning those thee players will begin to patch up those cracks and get Missouri closer to its full potential.
“It’s like pieces of puzzles,” Gates said. “Our entire team has been put together a certain way. … So we have guys playing playing well, but playing out of position due to our injuries, and ultimately, I’m excited about getting healthy. You cannot ask our players to do more than what they’ve done. I take it on my shoulders, as the leader, as the head coach, it’s on me. This game is on me.”
The most impactful of the absences has been guard Jayden Stone, who has now missed each of the last seven games with a hand injury. He provided a scoring spark off the bench, including from the perimeter, when he was healthy. His initial timeline for return set him to return to the court for SEC play at the latest.
Meanwhile, forward Trent Pierce has missed the entirety of his junior season so far with an undisclosed injury. No specific timeline has been given for his return.
Additionally, Missouri faced another surprising hit against the Fighting Illini with forward Jevon Porter missing the game with a leg injury.
Between Stone and Porter, Missouri is missing a combined average of 19.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Plus the length of Pierce, who started in 19 games last season.
Gates believes Missouri is hurting not only from the absence of those three players alone, but also from the domino effect it is having on the lineups. Specifically with the offensive spacing that Stone brings that creates opportunities for other players on the offense.
“When you lose a guy (Pierce) that has not played this season and he’s a starter in the SEC, that’s a (missing) advantage with length, shooting ability,” Gates said. “Jayden Stone, the same way, look at his percentage. You have to have both Stone and (Jacob) Crews in the game to open up things.”
The injuries have forced other players into roles not originally expected, stretching the roster thin.
“But in the meantime, in the process of getting healthy, we got to have guys fill in the blanks and be utility guys and do something that we may not have planned for you to do,” Gates said. “Some may take the opportunity as a way to get on the court, some may not.”
Gates specifically highlighted wanting the guys who were being asked to do more to do a better job of defending the 3-point line, where Illinois shot 45% from. He also highlighted wanting center Luke Northweather to be more agressive offensively in Porter’s absence.
Monday night’s absence for Porter meant more opportunities for true freshman forward Nicholas Randall, who appeared in 13 minutes. He grabbed two rebounds in that time.
But Porter and Pierce’s absence was still painfully obvious on the glass. Missouri was out-rebounded 43-24 and gave up 29 second-chance points while only scoring five of their own, a key disparity in the loss. The dominance on the glass for Illinois was crucial to the Fighting Illini going on a 14-5 run to end the first half. Gates attributed the second-chance points to Illinois being able to execute consistently on the opportunities and Missouri getting out of rotation too often.
“The second-chance points that we gave up, they executed on every single one of them, and that’s what hurt us,” Gates said. “That’s what ignited their run. And I just thought our guys at that point, hit a wall.”
Gates isn’t letting the injuries, nor Monday’s blowout loss affect his perception of what the team is capable of. With optimism that at least Stone and Porter could return at the start of SEC play, he’s hoping his team will look closer to the original picture he had in mind.
“I think our team is a good team, man,” Gates said. “We can win games as we have, without certain guys, and we’ll continue to piece it together.”
That piecing together will need to come quick. In non-conference play, Missouri did not earn any sort of notch for a possible bid in the NCAA Tournament. Though the Tigers finish the slate 10-3, Missouri went 1-3 against high-major opponents in that. The loss to Illinois was one that draws even more questions on what the Tigers are truly capable of this season.
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A scoreboard fell during its installation at Illinois’ O’Fallon Township High School last week, smashing as it hit the ground. Thankfully, nobody was hurt.
Superintendent Dr. Beth Shackelford said in a statement that “athletic activities and events will continue with adjustments as needed, and we are actively evaluating scheduling and facility options to minimize any disruptions.”
Nevco, the company installing the scoreboard, said the gym would be repaired in the next two to three weeks and the scoreboard would be replaced within six to eight weeks. Nevco will be handling the costs of those repairs.
Why is IMG Academy our Preseason High School Football No. 1?
USA TODAY Sports national high school sports reporters Logan Newman and Alex Martin break it down.
Eisenhower High School (Decatur, Illinois) is cancelling its 2026 high school varsity football season, just two weeks ahead of the season opener.
Week 1 of the 2026 Illinois High School football season is scheduled to open on Aug. 20. While Eisenhower will not play a varsity schedule, it will continue to field a junior varsity team.
The school announced the cancellation of the season in a Facebook post on Monday, Aug. 11.
“Eisenhower High School Announces 2026 Football Program Update:
“Decatur Public Schools #61 announces that Eisenhower High School will not field a varsity football team for the 2026 season due to low participation numbers and a concern for student safety.
“The school’s junior varsity football program will continue as scheduled, providing student-athletes with the opportunity to participate and develop within the program.
“The school has notified the Illinois High School Association, scheduled opponents, student-athletes, families, and coaching staff of this decision.”
The Panthers finished the 2025 season with a 1-8 record, which included a 27-21 win over Lanphier in week eight. It was the fifth straight season with a 1-8 record for the program, which follows up a pair of 0-9 seasons the two years prior.
Eisenhower’s opponents for the 2026 season included: MacArthur, Lincoln, Southeast, Lanphier, Mascoutah, Mt. Zion, Rochester, U-High and Glenwood.
According to IHSA Associate Executive Director Matt Troha, Eisenhower’s opponents will have two options:
- Accept a forfeit win and not play a Varsity game that week
- Schedule a different opponent and take the result of what happens on the field vs. the new opponent
“In most cases, it is too late, but there are a few teams out there that only have eight games on the schedule, so it’s possible that a few add games, but unlikely they all do,” Troha said via email to USA TODAY Sports.
“In recent years, we have also had some teams choose to double-up and play a conference team twice. So, they could choose to do that within their league as well.”
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SHIRLEY — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker does not think the Chicago Bears actually want to leave Illinois for a new home in Indiana, the governor said Monday.
Pritzker addressed the future of the Chicago Bears, which in June announced their intentions to build a new stadium in Hammond, Indiana, during an agriculture event in Shirley on Monday, saying he did not believe the team actually want to make the move across the border.
The Bears and Illinois lawmakers went back and forth for months over a potential deal that would keep the team in Illinois at a 326-acre site in Arlington Heights, a Chicago suburb, which the Bears have owned since 2021.
However, the Illinois legislature failed to pass a bill this spring solidifying a deal, and in June the Bears announced they intended to build a stadium in Hammond at a site that sits atop a slag heap and near hazardous wastes drop sites.
Pritzker, however, does not think the Bears truly want to make this move. He said Monday he is “hopeful” a deal can still be struck that will keep the NFL team in Illinois.
“I love Indiana, love Indiana, but I don’t think the Bears really want to go to Indiana and I think that the most unpopular governor in the entire country Gov. (Mike) Braun, is attempting to make the case that he is winning the Chicago Bears over to Indiana, but I don’t actually think that’s happening,” Pritzker said. “But maybe he thinks he can get reelected just by saying that.”
Republican Darren Bailey, who is running against Pritzker in November’s gubernatorial election, cast the possible move to Indiana by the Bears as a done deal on Monday, saying it was too late to convince the team to stay.
Bailey said he talked to Braun about Indiana’s deal with the Bears and was assured “that ship sailed about five years ago.” He called any words from Pritzker about keeping the Bears in Illinois “empty promises.”
“I do believe, unfortunately, that the Bears are gone,” Bailey said.
Bailey also said he does not want to see any more deals done “off the backs of taxpayers,” especially given the Bears are a multi-billion-dollar franchise.
“But, unfortunately, I believe the Bears are gone because proper entities of leadership did not work timely,” Bailey said. “And you will have my word that as your governor that we will be front and center with communication and there will be no more businesses leaving this state for failure of communication or failure of leadership.”
Will the Bears actually leave Illinois?
If you take what leadership from the Chicago Bears franchise has said at face value, then yes, the Chicago Bears are going to be moving forward with a plan to construct a multi-billion-dollar stadium, using $2 billion of their own money and $1 billion of money from the state of Indiana to fund the project.
“We believe a world-class stadium project in Hammond will transform the region, connecting Northwest Indiana to the South Side of Chicago through the Loop and across neighborhoods and suburbs stretching north of the city,” Bears chairman George H. McCaskey and team president and CEO Kevin Warren said in a June statement. “It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses.”
However, much like an actual football game, nothing is done until the clock strikes zero, and if you take what Pritzker said Monday seriously, there is still plenty of room for the Bears and Illinois lawmakers to strike a deal when the state legislature returns to work in November.
The Illinois Senate and House each passed bills this spring that offer proposals to keep the Bears in Illinois, however, neither bill was passed by the other chamber before legislative session ended.
It is now up to the Bears, Pritzker said Monday, to take those two bills and figure out which pieces of the legislation they can work with. However, Pritzker did say he is not in favor of giving a team valued at $9 billion and owned by billionaires to give away taxpayer money so they can build a new stadium.
“I’m sorry, but most people can’t afford to go to a Bears game,” Pritzker said. “Most people can’t afford to buy hot dogs at Bears games. So yes, I want them to stay, they’re a business in the state of Illinois. We can provide incentives, attractions for businesses to come into Illinois and stay in Illinois. But I’m telling you, writing a check for $2 billion to build a stadium doesn’t make sense to me.”
Pritzker did say the state would build roads and sewers and “every kind of infrastructure they need.” The Bears have said they would need to state to pay $855 million for infrastructure improvements around the Arlington Heights location.
When does the Chicago Bears season begin?
Despite the questions about their future still hanging over Halas Hall, the Chicago Bears still have a season to play in 2026.
The Chicago Bears kickoff their regular season on Sunday, Sept. 13, against the Carolina Panthers in Carolina. The Bears first home game is the following week on Sunday, Sept. 20, against the Minnesota Vikings.
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