Illinois

Keys to victory, players to watch, prediction for Xavier vs. Illinois in NCAA Tournament

Published

12 months ago

March 20, 2025

Press Room

Keys to victory, players to watch, prediction for Xavier vs. Illinois in NCAA Tournament

Xavier and Illinois last met in the Maui Invitational in 2019.

Xavier plays Illinois Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Illinois is favored, but Xavier is playing in a familiar venue.
Xavier must slow down Illinois’ offense to advance in the NCAA Tournament.

Xavier is into the 64-team field of the NCAA Tournament after pulling out a thrilling 86-80 victory over the Texas Longhorns in the First Four Wednesday night in Dayton.

It’s a quick turnaround for Xavier, but the Musketeers will play in another familiar venue as they battle No. 6 Illinois Friday at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

Xavier had lost its first six games against Marquette at Fiserv Forum before a 59-57 upset of the then-No. 7 Golden Eagles Jan. 18. It will be a neutral site contest this time around when Xavier takes on an Illinois program that is very familiar with the pressures of the NCAA Tournament.

3 keys to a Xavier Musketeers’ win over Illinois Fighting Illini in NCAA Tournament 1st round

1. Xavier must slow down one of nation’s highest-scoring offenses

In the aforementioned Xavier upset of Marquette, the Musketeers turned one of their best defensive efforts to pull out their only Quad 1 win of the year.

Xavier held Marquette to just 37.1% shooting (8-for-29 from three-point range), kept the Golden Eagles off the free-throw line (3-for-7) and forced 13 turnovers.

It will be an even bigger test Friday as Xavier tries to punch its ticket to the second round. Illinois ranks No. 15 in KenPom in offensive efficiency. Illinois is No. 11 in scoring offense at 83.8 points per game and does a lot of damage near the rim as the No. 18 shooting team from two-point range.

Xavier always likes to play fast and that matches what Illinois likes to do as the No. 18 team in the country in adjusted tempo, per KenPom.

Can Xavier’s defense Friday be the unit that showed up in the second half against Texas and held the red-hot Longhorns to 33 points on 37.5% shooting?

2. Can Xavier force long misses?

Illinois loves shooting from the perimeter. The Fighting Illini attempt 46.9% of its field goals from beyond the arc, which is the 30th-highest rate in the country.

The problem? Illinois is the fifth-worst three-point shooting team in the NCAA Tournament (No. 316 in the nation). Xavier’s defense must be tough near the rim against a bigger lineup and force Illinois out of what it does best and into more attempts from the perimeter. Illinois connects from downtown at just a 31.1% clip, which was 17th in the 18-team Big 10.

Xavier’s defensive rebounding will be tested

In Tuesday’s pre-tournament press conferences in Dayton, Xavier sophomore Dailyn Swain said the Musketeers’ improvement on the glass helped propel the team down the stretch to an at-large bid.

The numbers back it up. Per BartTorvik.com, Xavier ranks No. 8 in the country in defensive rebounding since the Musketeers hit a “low point” in early January after giving up 20 offensive boards and 22 second-chance points in a home loss to St. John’s.

Xavier lost the rebounding battle to Texas, 33-28 and gave up nine offensive boards.

Illinois will certainly test Xavier on the glass, and it will be on the key matchups to watch. Illinois might be a bottom-half shooting team, but the Fighting Illini clean up their misses as they ranked No. 18 in the country and first in the Big 10 in offensive rebounding.

Xavier Musketeers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini

Tip: Friday, 9:45 p.m. (E.T.), Fiserv Forum (17,385)

TV/Radio: CBS/Westwood One

Ratings: Xavier is No. 41 in KenPom and Illinois is No. 20. Xavier is No. 45 in the NCAA NET Rankings and Illinois is No. 17.

History: The two teams have split four all-time meetings with Xavier winning the last two. The Musketeers won, 65-59, at then-U.S. Bank Arena in Dec. 2006 and in the Maui Invitation in 2019.

Illinois Fighting Illini scouting report

Record: 21-12

Head coach: Brad Underwood (164-100 at Illinois, eighth season)

Offense: 83.8 ppg

Defense: 74.6 ppg

Overview: Brad Underwood has now taken Illinois to the NCAA Tournament in five consecutive seasons and broke through last year with a Sweet 16 appearance.

With its streaky shooting, Illinois was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde team throughout the year. The Fighting Illini spent 10 weeks in the AP poll, but dropped seven of 11 between Jan. 19-Feb. 22 before a three-game winning streak to end the regular season.

Illinois raced past Iowa in the opening round of the Big 10 Tournament before getting trounced by Maryland, 88-65, in the quarterfinals March 14.

Projected starting lineup

(Pos., Height, Stats)

Kylan Boswell (G, 6’2″, 11.9 ppg)

Kasparas Jakucionis (G, 6’6″, 15 ppg)

Tre White (G, 6’7″, 10.7 ppg)

Will Riley (F, 6’8″, 12.5 ppg)

Tomislav Ivisic (C, 7’1″, 12.5 ppg)

Xavier Musketeers scouting report

Record: 22-11

Head coach: Sean Miller (185-86 at Xavier, eighth season)

Offense: 78.3 ppg

Defense: 71.2 ppg

Projected starting lineup

(Pos., Height, Stats)

Dayvion McKnight (G, 6’0″, 9.5 ppg)

Ryan Conwell (G, 6’4″, 16.7 ppg)

Marcus Foster (G, 6’5″, 8 ppg)

Dailyn Swain (G/F, 6’8″, 10.5 ppg)

Zach Freemantle (F, 6’9″, 17.2 ppg)

Players to watch

Xavier’s biggest concern against a tall Illinois lineup is sophomore center Tomislav Ivisic. The 7-footer from Croatia is averaging 12.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game and could impact several shot attempts against a Xavier offense that gets its shots blocked at one of the nation’s highest rates.

Xavier’s offense got its biggest bump from Marcus Foster at UD Arena as the veteran guard went 8-for-9 from the field and knocked down four 3-pointers for a season-high 22 points. Foster hadn’t scored in double figures since Feb. 15. Illinois ranks No. 143 defensive against 3-pointers and is top 20 defending inside the arc.

Xavier also got 22 points off the bench against Texas thanks to the hot shooting of Dante Maddox Jr. and Jerome Hunter.

Hunter, the only player around for the Sweet 16 run since Freemantle was hurt, hit multiple three-pointers for the first time in the calendar year.

Xavier vs. Illinois pick and score prediction

Xavier’s defense got a wakeup call after giving up 89 points against Marquette in a Big East Tournament loss. Xavier won’t have the home-court advantage it had at UD Arena, but the Musketeers use another all-in defensive effort to upset the Fighting Illini.

Xavier’s offense should get quality looks against an Illinois defense that was 14th in the Big 10 in scoring (74.6 points per game) and the Musketeers are equipped to win in a track meet.

Five teams that started in the First Four have advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. There’s reason to believe Xavier could follow that trend.

Final score prediction: Xavier 81, Illinois 77

Source link

Click to comment

Illinois

Illinois lawmakers consider tightening DUI law to 0.05 BAC

Published

58 minutes ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Illinois lawmakers consider tightening DUI law to 0.05 BAC

COLLINSVILLE, Ill. (First Alert 4) – Right now, in Illinois, Missouri and most of the country, drivers must be at or over 0.08 to get a DUI. A proposal in the Illinois Statehouse would lower that threshold.

“Make it as safe as you possibly can out there,” said John Sapolis.

Collinsville resident John Sapolis said while lowering Illinois’ DUI threshold would not affect him, as he rarely drinks, he likes the idea of getting drinkers off the road.

“It’s bad enough out there driving around with people who are not drinking,” said Sapolis.

If a bill passes in the Illinois House of Representatives, the blood alcohol limit would be lowered, meaning fewer drinks could put somebody over the line for a DUI.

Two Chicago-area lawmakers propose lowering the threshold from 0.08 to 0.05.

“Your body still is not in a proper state to really be behind the wheel,” said Erin Doherty, Regional Executive Director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Doherty said even at 0.05, drivers are less coordinated and cannot track moving objects as well as when they are sober.

Utah is the only state in the country to have the 0.05 limit, and Doherty said one in five drivers there changed their behavior.

“There are so many other options before getting behind the wheel,” said Doherty.

Sara Floyd used to live in Utah and now calls Collinsville home.

“The Midwest people like to have a few beers while they watch their Little League games

“In Utah, you can barely get alcohol at a gas station,” said Floyd.

She said the culture in Utah is very different and thinks there should be some wiggle room for drivers.

“If one person had a beer within an hour period and then drove, they shouldn’t get a DUI for one drink,” said Floyd.

Doherty said they do not recommend driving even after a single drink.

“You really should not get behind the wheel when you’re any kind of impaired, one drink, five drinks, whatever that looks like, just don’t drive,” said Doherty.

While each body processes alcohol differently, according to the National Library of Medicine, in a two-hour period it takes a 170-pound man three to four drinks to reach 0.05, and it takes a 137-pound woman two to three drinks to reach the same state.

April Sage said she does not think this law would work, saying instead it would help more if the state added more public transit.

“I could have three beers and get a ride home safely,” said Sage.

First Alert 4 reached out to a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Transportation to see if they had any comments on this bill. The spokesperson said they are not going to comment because it is pending legislation.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, fatal crashes involving one driver who had been drinking increased 4% from 2019 to 2022, despite multiple studies showing fewer Americans are drinking.

Source link

Illinois

Voters had no choice in nearly 9-in-10 primary elections

Published

13 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Voters had no choice in nearly 9-in-10 primary elections

Illinois voting data shows voters had no choice of candidate in nearly 9-in-10 Democratic and Republican primaries for state and federal office in 2024.

Voters had no choice of candidate in nearly nine out of every 10 Republican and Democratic primary elections for state and federal office in 2024.

Analysis of Illinois voting data shows Democrats ran one or no candidate in 135 of the 155 primary elections for the U.S. House, Illinois Senate and Illinois House. That left voters with a choice between candidates in just 20 races.

Meanwhile, Republicans only ran one or no candidate in 137 of the 155 primary elections last year for non-judicial state and federal positions, giving voters of a choice in just 18 races.

In total, there were 155 primaries for the U.S. House of Representatives, Illinois Senate and Illinois House in 2024. Democrats did not run a candidate in 28 of these races while Republicans failed to run a candidate in 50.

And in the 107 Democratic primaries and 87 Republican primaries were only one candidate ran for the position, those candidates secured their spot on the general election ballot with a single primary vote.

To get on the primary ballot for Illinois Senate, the Illinois General Assembly mandates established party candidates to get 1,000 petition signatures from district party members. Illinois House candidates need 500 signatures. For U.S. House, either party’s candidates need signatures from 0.5% of all primary voters from their party in the district.

This lack of choice between candidates for Democratic and Republican party primaries also left general election voters with fewer choices on the ballot.

In the 2024 election cycle, 65 of the 155 non-judicial state and federal general elections had only one candidate on the ballot. That means in 65 districts, it only took one vote for a candidate to win a seat representing the entire district.

Illinoisans already suffer from a lack of choice in candidates. Research shows an average of 4.7 million Illinois voters had no choice in their state representative between the 2012 and 2020 election cycles.

Research shows more choice drives voter participation and makes legislators less susceptible to the influence of lobbyists and special interests. Lightly contested elections also tend to skew policies in favor of powerful special interests.

Illinois should consider reforms that will give voters more choices at the ballot box, such as making it easier for independents to enter the general election like they do in Iowa, Wisconsin and Tennessee.

Until that happens, Illinoisans will continue to see elections with too few choices and too much influence handed to those already in power.

Source link

Illinois

2 men shot, 1 fatally, outside bar in Morris, police say

Published

1 day ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

2 men shot, 1 fatally, outside bar in Morris, police say

MORRIS, Ill. (WLS) — A man was killed and another was injured in a shooting outside of a bar in Grundy County.

The shooting happened early Saturday outside of Clayton’s Tap in the 100 block of West Washington Street in Morris, Illinois, officials said.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene, where they found two men with gunshot wounds. One was pronounced dead at the scene and the other was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

The victim who died was identified by the Grundy County Coroner’s Office as 35-year-old Julian Rosario of Channahon.

A suspect in the shooting, 22-year-old Marshall Szpara of Seneca, was arrested and “initially charged with two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, pending further review from the Grundy County States Attorney’s office,” Morris police said.

No further information was available.

Source link