Associated Press

Eastern Illinois Panthers (2-5) at Butler Bulldogs (6-1)

Indianapolis; Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Bulldogs -21.5; over/under is 139

BOTTOM LINE: Eastern Illinois visits Butler after Nakyel Shelton scored 26 points in Eastern Illinois’ 72-59 win over the Northern Illinois Huskies.

The Bulldogs have gone 4-1 at home. Butler has a 5-1 record against opponents above .500.

The Panthers are 0-5 in road games. Eastern Illinois is ninth in the OVC scoring 67.3 points per game and is shooting 42.1%.

Butler’s average of 9.1 made 3-pointers per game this season is just 0.8 fewer made shots on average than the 9.9 per game Eastern Illinois gives up. Eastern Illinois averages 4.9 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.2 fewer makes per game than Butler gives up.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jahmyl Telfort is scoring 17.6 points per game with 3.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists for the Bulldogs.

Shelton is shooting 43.8% and averaging 18.4 points for the Panthers.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

After a volatile week in college basketball when highly ranked teams were beaten like drums, Illinois took advantage in the latest AP Top 25 voting.

The 6-1 Illini – who had a very nice 90-77 win against then-No. 19 Arkansas on a neutral floor in Kansas City, Missouri, last Thursday – re-entered the Top 25 at No. 19. That’s 12 spots better one week after they had received the 31st-most points in the voting.

College basketball is looking wildly unpredictable already. Mighty UConn lost three straight games last week. Fellow top-six teams Gonzaga, Iowa State and Houston lost four times between them. North Carolina and Indiana lost twice apiece. There are going to be a great many teams capable of doing damage when the NCAA Tournament rolls around.

The Illini, with so much positional versatility and three-point shooting, should be one of those teams. But a poor start in conference play for the Illini is the last thing they need. Their Big Ten opener is at Northwestern this Friday at 8 p.m. Central.

As one of 62 voters in the weekly AP poll, I had the Illini at No. 20 on my preseason ballot and since have ranked them 21st, 23rd and now 15th. They are one of my biggest climbers this week.

The Big Ten has four teams in the current poll: Purdue at 8, Wisconsin at 11, Oregon at 12, Illinois at 19. Michigan State was first among others receiving votes.

AP Top 25: 1. Kansas, 2. Auburn, 3. Tennessee, 4. Kentucky, 5. Marquette, 6. Iowa State, 7. Gonzaga, 8. Purdue, 9. Duke, 10. Alabama, 11. Wisconsin, 12. Oregon, 13. Florida, 14. Cincinnati, 15. Baylor, 16. Memphis, 17. Houston, 18. Pittsburgh, 19. Illinois, 20. North Carolina, 21. Oklahoma, 22. Texas A&M, 23. Ole Miss, 24. San Diego State, 25. UConn.

My latest ballot: 1. Kansas, 2. Auburn, 3. Iowa State, 4. Alabama, 5. Gonzaga, 6. Marquette, 7. Purdue, 8. Tennessee, 9. Wisconsin, 10. Kentucky, 11. Duke, 12. Ole Miss, 13. Cincinnati, 14. Florida, 15. Illinois, 16. Memphis, 17. Pittsburgh, 18. Oklahoma, 19. Texas A&M, 20. Texas, 21. Houston, 22. San Diego State, 23. Michigan State, 24. North Carolina, 25. UConn.

Illinois Basketball Makes Impression in NCAA’s Initial NET Rankings

Illinois Basketball Report Card: Grades vs. Arkansas (Game 7)

Instant Analysis: Illinois Basketball Outguns No. 19 Arkansas 90-77

A handful of Midwestern cities ranked high on a new list of the “Best Places to Live in the U.S. for 2025-26, with two spots in Wisconsin coming in the top 15.

And while Illinois also appeared on the list, only one city in the Prairie State cracked the top 100.

The new list, from U.S. News and World Report, evaluated 150 major cities to find the “best places to live” using a public survey and metrics including housing value, job market, crime rates, desirability and more. Editors then created a “Quality of Life Index,” which took into account education, well-being, commuter index, availability of health care, the report said.

The rankings are “intended to help readers make the most informed decisions when choosing where to settle down,” the report said. “Cities in the rankings are evaluated using data from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, the FBI, the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. News’ own internal resources.”

Coming in at No. 1 on the list was Naples, Florida, followed by Boise, Idaho at No. 2, and Colorado Springs, Colorado at No. 3. While no Midwestern cities ranked in the top 10, Green Bay, in Northeast Wisconsin landed at No. 12.

“Home to one of the most storied football franchises in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers, Green Bay has the perfect mix of big-city amenities complemented with a Midwestern, small-town feel,” the entry read. “This city boasts a thriving entertainment and arts scene, a revitalized downtown, and two college campuses, creating an energy that may appeal to young families and retirees.”

Not much further down, at No. 14, was Madison, Wisconsin.

“A hotbed of the health care, information technology and manufacturing industries, Madison has steadily welcomed new residents over the past decade and is growing to accommodate and entertain these transplants,” the report said. “Developers are quickly erecting mixed-use luxury housing with ground floors occupied by trendy restaurants and coffee shops. Madison’s options for fine dining, microbrews and craft cocktails are constantly expanding.”

Other Midwestern cities that ranked in the top 25 were Ann Arbor, Michigan, at No. 19, Fort Wayne, Indiana at No. 20 and South Bend, Indiana at No. 25.

Just one Illinois city made the top 100, with Peoria squeaking out a spot at No. 82 and the report touting is booming real estate market.

“You can buy a lot of house for relatively little money in this city’s urban neighborhoods, along its river-view bluff and in its family-filled suburban subdivisions,” the report said. “Gritty old warehouses are becoming entertainment districts where foodies congregate, live music flourishes and loft apartments multiply. Stage theater is returning to architectural-jewel venues.”

Chicago landed on the list at No. 119 — behind Rockford, which ranked at No. 105, and Milwaukee, which came in at No. 112.

“Chicago residents exude Midwestern friendliness, offering ‘hellos’ and ‘good mornings’ to passers-by – as long as the weather’s warm,” the reported stated. “Most people stay polite through the holiday season, but all bets are off afterward. As the weather begins to border on unbearably cold, Chicago residents lose their patience, acting as if they’re in a hurry to be somewhere – whether or not that’s the case.”

The top 25 cities ranked on the list can be found below:

1. Naples, Florida
2. Boise, Idaho
3. Colorado Springs, Colorado
4. Greenville, South Carolina
5. Charlotte, North Carolina
6. Raleigh, North Caroina
7. Huntsville, Alabama
8. Virginia Beach, Virginia
9. Austin, Texas
10. Boulder, Colorado
11. Sarasota, Florida
12. Green Bay, Wiscosin
13. Charleston, South Carolina
14. Madison, Wisconsin
15. Lexington, Kentucky
16. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
17. Asheville, North Carolina
18. Omaha, Nebraska
19. Ann Arbor, Michigan
20. Fort Wayne, Indiana
21. Fayetteville, Arkansas
22. San Francisco, California
23. Greensboro, North Carolina
24. Lincoln, Nebraska
25. South Bend, Indiana

The full report of 150 cities can be found here.