Illinois
Kentucky baseball vs Illinois score updates in NCAA regional bracket
LEXINGTON — Kentucky baseball’s NCAA Tournament opener went its way Friday, as it topped Western Michigan, 10-8.
A far bigger challenge awaits Saturday: Illinois, which has won 30 of its past 39 games and captured the Big Ten’s regular-season title.
The Wildcats, league champions themselves after earning a share of the SEC’s regular-season title for the first time since 2006, will try to do what they couldn’t do last year: beat a Big Ten squad in the second game of a regional. After shutting out Ball State in its first outing, UK fell to Indiana in Game 2. Kentucky then had to win three consecutive games to clinch only its second Super Regional appearance ever.
And Saturday, the Wildcats and Fighting Illini will have to get their bodies ready earlier than anticipated: The contest was originally slated to start at 6 p.m., but potential inclement weather in the Lexington area moved up first pitch to 55 minutes after the conclusion of the Western Michigan/Indiana State game.
Now, the UK/Illinois matchup is scheduled to begin at approximately 4 p.m.
Get to the game: Want to buy Kentucky baseball tickets for the Lexington Regional? Here are your best options for 2024 NCAA Tournament
More: Watch Kentucky baseball vs. Illinois and the NCAA Lexington Regional on ESPN+
The Courier Journal’s Ryan Black is at Kentucky Proud Park and will have live updates throughout the game — here and on X, formerly known as Twitter — and complete coverage after. You can follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
What channel is Kentucky vs Illinois on today?
Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament regional game against Illinois will stream at approximately 4 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+.
You can watch the game on WatchESPN.com, the WatchESPN app or ESPN+. Authenticated subscribers can access ESPN+ via TV-connected devices. Those without access to ESPN+ can access the game via a subscription to ESPN+. (To sign up for ESPN+, click here.)
Kentucky vs Illinois start time
First pitch for Saturday’s game in Lexington is set for approximately 4 p.m. It will start 55 minutes after the completion of Saturday’s first game between Indiana State and Western Michigan.
Kentucky vs Illinois prediction
Kentucky 5, Illinois 4: On paper, this matchup is like splitting hairs. Illinois averages 8.2 runs per game; Kentucky is at 8.1. The expected starting pitchers, UK’s Trey Pooser and Illinois’ Cooper Omans, have nearly identical rates in hits allowed per nine innings (7.01 for Omans, 7.14 for Pooser) and walks + hits per innings pitched — better known by its acronym WHIP — that has Pooser (1.18) slightly ahead of Omans (1.24). When teams are this evenly matched, give the most infinitesimal of edges to the squad playing in its home venue. In this case, that’s the Wildcats, who escape with a one-run victory to improve to 2-0 at the regional.
Kentucky vs Illinois location
All games in the NCAA Tournament’s Lexington Regional will be held at UK’s home stadium, Kentucky Proud Park.
Kentucky baseball schedule 2024
Kentucky is 41-14 in 2024, including 22-8 in SEC play during the regular season. The Wildcats claimed a share of the league’s regular-season title for only the second time in school history.
Click here to see the Wildcats’ full 2024 schedule.
Illinois baseball schedule 2024
Illnois is 35-19, going 18-6 in the Big Ten during the regular season. The Fighting Illini won the Big Ten’s regular-season championship for the first time since 2015.
Click here to see the Fighting Illini’s full 2024 schedule.
Kentucky baseball roster
Interested in seeing the Wildcats’ entire roster?
Click here to meet the 2024 UK baseball team.
Illinois baseball roster
Want to learn Fighting Illini’s roster?
Click here for player bios and more.
NCAA Lexington regionals schedule
Here’s the slate for Saturday’s two games in the NCAA Lexington Regional:
- Western Michigan vs. Indiana State, noon; Live stream: ESPN+; Stream: ESPN+
- Kentucky vs. Illinois, approx. 4 p.m.; Live stream: ESPN+; Stream: ESPN+
NCAA Lexington regionals bracket
Here’s a look at every game set to take place during the Lexington Regional at Kentucky Proud Park:
Friday, May 31
Saturday, June 1
- Game 3: Western Michigan vs. Indiana State, noon; Live stream: ESPN+; Stream: ESPN+
- Game 4: Kentucky vs. Illinois, approx. 4 p.m.; Live stream: ESPN+; Stream: ESPN+
Sunday, June 2
- Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, noon; TV: TBD
- Game 6: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 4, 6 p.m.; TV: TBD
Monday, June 3 (if necessary)
- Game 7: Same teams as Game 6, Time TBD; TV: TBD
2024 College World Series bracket
Interested in seeing the 64-team bracket for this year’s NCAA Tournament?
Click here to view it on the NCAA’s official website.
2024 NCAA baseball tournament odds
Odds courtesy of BetMGM.
Kentucky has the fifth-best odds, at +1000, to win the College World Series, per BetMGM.
The four favorites to capture the title are four other SEC squads: Tennessee (+500), Texas A&M (+550), Arkansas (+900) and defending national champion LSU (+900).
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
Illinois
Johnson scores 14, UIC takes down Southern Illinois 70-57
Thursday, January 8, 2026 4:14AM
CHICAGO — – Andy Johnson’s 14 points helped UIC defeat Southern Illinois 70-57 on Wednesday night.
Johnson had five rebounds for the Flames (6-10, 1-4 Missouri Valley Conference). Ahmad Henderson II added 13 points and Elijah Crawford scored 11.
Damien Mayo Jr. led the way for the Salukis (8-9, 2-4) with 17 points, five assists, two steals and two blocks. Jalen Haynes added seven points for Southern Illinois. Rolyns Aligbe had six points and two blocks.
UIC took the lead with 14:56 left in the first half and did not trail again. Henderson scored nine points in the first half to help put the Flames up 31-21 at the break.
——
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.br/]
Copyright © 2026 ESPN Internet Ventures. All rights reserved.
Illinois
Illinois Democrats express outrage, seek full investigation into ICE fatal shooting of Minnesota woman
Illinois Democrats are demanding a full investigation into the death of a woman at the hands of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis, with some calling it a “murder” and an “execution.”
The woman was fatally shot Wednesday during a traffic stop in a residential neighborhood just south of downtown Minneapolis. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called it “an act of domestic terrorism” by a woman who “attempted to run them over and rammed them with her vehicle.”
Noem said an officer “acted quickly and defensively, shot, to protect himself and the people around him.”
Videos taken by witnesses show an officer approaching an SUV stopped across the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to pull forward and a different ICE officer standing in front of the vehicle pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots into the vehicle at close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him, according to the Associated Press. It’s unclear whether the vehicle made contact with the officer.
The woman, whose name wasn’t immediately released, is at least the fifth death linked to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations. Silverio Villegas González died on Sept. 12 after being shot as he allegedly tried to flee from ICE agents in suburban Franklin Park. Body camera footage first obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times shows the federal agent telling local police he was “dragged a little bit.” Speaking over the radio, his partner relays the agent suffered “a left knee injury and some lacerations to his hands.”
Villegas González had no criminal history, but DHS has said he had “a history of reckless driving” and was in the country without legal status.
U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia said he is “heartbroken and outraged” by what he called a “murder.” U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson called it “an execution in our streets.”
“This tragedy occurred less than a mile from the hallowed ground where George Floyd was murdered during Donald Trump’s first term,” Jackson said in a statement. “It is a chilling and devastating reminder that the cycle of state-sanctioned violence against our communities has not only continued but has been weaponized under this administration’s ‘Operation Metro Surge.’”
Sen. Tammy Duckworth is calling for an immediate investigation into the ICE officer who fired the shot. She wrote on X, “ICE is clearly not making us safer. This needs to stop.” And Sen. Dick Durbin called the death “tragic, heartbreaking and enraging” but urged protesters to “remain peaceful.”
“A full investigation must be completed so the truth can be revealed,” Durbin said in a statement. “Video of the incident starkly contradicts DHS’s narrative, and the fact that DHS has jumped to characterize this shooting in ‘self-defense’ is rushed, at best, and a lie, at worst.”
Three top Democrats vying to replace Durbin in the March 17 primary all said they would push for answers about the death.
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said he will be “demanding full answers and accountability from the Trump administration” over a “horrific loss of life.”
“This is Donald Trump’s America: a woman is dead because ICE is operating with impunity in our neighborhoods,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement. “…When federal agents are unleashed without restraint or oversight, the consequences are deadly — and the responsibility for this killing is on their hands.”
U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly evoked Villegas’ death in commenting on the Minnesota shooting.
“The city of Chicago knows all too well that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem only lies. After the deadly shooting of Silverio Villegas González during a traffic stop, Secretary Noem tried to hide the truth, but bodycam footage disproved injuries sustained by the ICE officer,” Kelly said. “The Minneapolis Mayor has already said that video disputes Secretary Noem’s claims. It’s clear that to achieve public safety, ICE must leave our cities immediately.”
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton called the shooting “horrific.”
“Rejecting authoritarianism should not be a death sentence in the United States of America,” Stratton said. “We need answers and we need ICE out of our communities.”
Rep. Brad Schneider called the fatal shooting “a stain on our entire nation.”
“Sending strength to the Minneapolis community. Chicagoland knows all too well the trauma and terror Trump’s chaotic immigration operations bring to otherwise peaceful communities,” Schneider said. “Our President should be making America and Americans safer. He is failing.”
Illinois
Illinois Inexplicably Drops in ESPN’s Updated Bracketology From Joe Lunardi
Illinois’ win over Penn State at The Palestra was anything but flawless. A horrid shooting night and a stagnant offensive performance – specifically when freshman guard Keaton Wagler was off the floor – characterized the whole affair.
Defensively, the Illini were fairly stout, but they gave up far too many second-chance opportunities to the Nittany Lions – who parlayed 14 offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points.
But to steal a win on the road – technically, the game was played in neutral-site Philadelphia – against a Big Ten opponent is an accomplishment in itself. (It was just lowly Penn State, you say? Tell that to Michigan, which squeaked by the Nittany Lions by two on Tuesday night.)
In a college basketball season of more than 30 games, it’s inevitable that a two-hour window will overlap here and there when the shots simply don’t fall – no matter how open the looks are. That happened on Saturday, yet the Illini still triumphed.
That’s glass half full. The glass-half-empty perspective goes something like this: putting up 73 points on 39.3 percent shooting against a Penn State team that entered the game outside of the top 200 in defensive efficiency (per KenPom) is embarrassing. And as a team that prides itself on controlling the glass, giving up 14 offensive rebounds to the Nittany Lions is entirely unacceptable.
Where Illinois landed in ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology
Perhaps ESPN’s Joe Lunardi is a pessimist, as that latter line of rationale could be the only possible explanation for his decision in Tuesday’s edition of Bracketology. In it, he dropped the Illini a seed line, moving them down from a three seed to a four seed.
Since Lunardi’s previous update, Illinois has played exactly one game – against Penn State. Were the Illini really exposed that badly in Philly? In any case, they have two full months to bolster their resume, and the Big Ten schedule provides plenty of prime opportunities: In the next 32 days alone, the Illini have road meetings at No. 19 Iowa, No. 5 Purdue, No. 10 Nebraska – a key chance at vengeance – and No. 12 Michigan State.
Split those contests and Illinois may find itself sitting firmly as a three seed. Win three out of four and the Illini are suddenly a borderline two seed. But until they prove themselves with a few more statement victories, it appears they will be stuck as a four – an excellent “consolation” prize for the time being.
Every Big Ten team in Joe Lunardi’s bracketology for ESPN
Ohio State (No. 11 seed)
Indiana (No. 10)
UCLA (No. 9)
USC (No. 8)
Iowa (No. 6)
Michigan State (No. 4)
Illinois (No. 4)
Nebraska (No. 3)
Purdue (No. 2)
Michigan (No. 1)
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