Illinois

Virginia Basketball vs. Illinois Game Preview, Score Prediction

Published

3 years ago

November 20, 2022

Virginia Basketball vs. Illinois Game Preview, Score Prediction

After a giant win over Baylor on Friday night time, the No. 16 Virginia males’s basketball crew seems to be to do it once more on Sunday towards No. 19 Illinois, hoping to seize the Continental Tire Important Occasion Championship in Las Vegas. Each the Cavaliers and the Combating Illini knocked off top-10 opponents within the semifinals on Friday (UVA beat No. 5 Baylor, Illinois beat No. 8 UCLA) and now meet in a second-consecutive ranked matchup with the Important Occasion title on the road.

Learn on for a full preview of Virginia vs. Illinois, together with particulars on the sport, an opponent scouting report, recreation notes, and a rating prediction.

Recreation Particulars

Who: Virginia Cavaliers (3-0) vs. Illinois Combating Illini (4-0)

When: Sunday, November twentieth at 3pm ET

The place: T-Cell Area in Las Vegas, Nevada

Tips on how to watch: ESPN

Tips on how to stream: fuboTV (Begin your free trial)

Tips on how to pay attention: Virginia Sports activities Radio Community – click on right here for associates

All-time collection: That is the first-ever assembly between Virginia and Illinois

Opponent Scouting Report: Illinois

2021-2022: 23-10, 15-5 Massive Ten

2022-2023: 4-0
Wins: Jap Illinois 87-57, Kansas Metropolis 86-48, Monmouth 103-65, UCLA 79-70

Illinois received its first Massive Ten common season championship since 2005 final season, going 15-5 in convention play. However, the Illini couldn’t maintain that success in postseason play, going one-and-done within the Massive Ten Event earlier than shedding to Houston within the second spherical of the NCAA Event.

From that crew, the Combating Illini return zero starters and only a few rotation gamers, as junior middle Coleman Hawkins is the one returner who averaged double-digit minutes final season. Nonetheless, Illinois has a really proficient roster this 12 months as Brad Underwood had an incredible offseason, signing a highly-touted freshman class and scoring some high quality additions by means of the switch portal.

Crucial addition has undoubtedly been Texas Tech switch Terrence Shannon, who has seemed like a totally totally different participant since he arrived in Champaign. The 6’6″ senior guard exploded on Friday night time, scoring 29 factors on 8/9 three-point capturing (sure, you learn that proper) and 10 rebounds. That is an unreal statline that hardly conveys how unbelievable Shannon’s efficiency was in Illinois’ 79-70 win over UCLA. There may be some hope that he may have cooled off between Friday night time and Sunday afternoon – he shot like 2019 Elite Eight Carsen Edwards on Friday and the Cavaliers actually needn’t see something like that once more. Will probably be attention-grabbing to see how Tony Bennett tries to include Shannon – my guess is a mix of both Armaan Franklin or Reece Beekman and a few very aggressive hedges on ball-screens – UVA must power the ball out of his arms as typically as attainable.

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Shannon is averaging 24.3 factors per recreation, however he’s hardly a one-man present as Illinois has three different gamers averaging in double figures – Dain Dainja (16.3 ppg), Coleman Hawkins (10.0 ppg), and Jayden Epps (10.0 ppg). Virginia may discover itself at a measurement drawback on the perimeter as all of Illinois’ key guards are 6’2″ or taller. Freshmen Skyy Clark (6’3″), Jayden Epps (6’2″), and Sencire Harris (6’4″) have seemed very promising up to now and sophomore RJ Melendez (6’7″) is a strong defender as effectively.

6’10” ahead Coleman Hawkins has hit 5 of his 12 three-point makes an attempt up to now this season and possesses an underrated passing means, particularly for a giant man. That is one thing the Cavaliers will want to pay attention to as they ceaselessly double within the put up. Hawkins has the imaginative and prescient, peak, and passing abilities to make UVA pay for hasty double groups. Virginia may contemplate leaning on Kadin Shedrick to deal with Hawkins one-on-one within the put up.

Illinois has one other stretch massive in Baylor switch Matthew Mayer, who shouldn’t be afraid to tug the set off from three (18 makes an attempt by means of 4 video games) and likewise has a variety of expertise enjoying in massive video games as he’s starting his fifth 12 months of school basketball. Dain Dainja, a 6’9″ ahead who additionally transferred from Baylor, provides the Bears a extremely efficient inside presence. He has linked on 30 of his 35 subject aim makes an attempt up to now this season for a shocking 85.7% subject aim proportion. Virginia’s forwards – specifically Jayden Gardner and Ben Vander Plas – may have their arms full towards the Illini bigs.

Illinois shouldn’t be shy about taking and making three-pointers, capturing over 38% from past the arc. Shannon, Hawkins, Epps, Clark, Mayer, and Harris are all prepared perimeter shooters who even have the athleticism to assault the paint if Virginia will get too aggressive on closeouts. The UVA protection can be challenged laborious simply because it was towards Baylor on Friday.

The Illini boast a potent offense, averaging 88.8 factors per contest by means of 4 video games. However they have not seen a protection like Virginia’s but. Baylor was a giant first check for UVA on Friday night time and the Bears put up 79 factors thanks largely to some unbelievable particular person scoring efforts. However, Virginia additionally held Baylor to a six-plus minute stretch with no made subject aim that proved to be the distinction within the recreation. It is early, however confidence stays excessive that Tony Bennett may have this crew working as among the best defenses within the nation as he has accomplished time and time once more. Doing sufficient to decelerate Illinois’ offense is the subsequent step in that course of.

Recreation Notes

That is the first-ever assembly between the Virginia and Illinois males’s basketball applications
Virginia is 106-131 all-time towards groups who’re presently members of the Massive Ten convention, with 183 of these video games coming towards Maryland
UVA holds a 49-41 report towards ranked opponents beneath Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is eight wins away from passing Terry Holland (326-173) as Virginia’s all-time winningest coach
Virginia has made a minimum of 9 three-pointers in every of its first three video games, marking the primary time the Cavaliers have made that many threes in consecutive video games because the 2018-2019 season
Virginia is aiming for its eighth non-conference November match championship within the final 9 seasons

Prediction

Whatever the end result, each groups have already gotten an excessive amount of worth out of this journey to Las Vegas. They’ve already picked up a win over a top-10 opponent on a impartial courtroom and at the moment are getting pivotal expertise working in a match atmosphere with solely a one-day break between video games. That have will show to be very important in March.

If the Illini, and specifically Terrence Shannon, get going offensively and shoot in addition to they did towards UCLA (52.9% from the ground, 48.0% from three), then the query can be if Virginia can sustain in a shootout. The Cavaliers are presently capturing 51.6% from three, an astronomical leap from their 32.3% season-long clip from the 2021-2022 season. However that will not final without end – UVA shot 64.3% (9/14) from three towards Baylor and that stage is solely unsustainable. However what’s going to Virginia’s common finally regress to? UVA now has the shooters to knock down open perimeter pictures and with the assorted offensive items Tony Bennett has to work with this season, the Cavaliers have been in a position to persistently manufacture these open pictures, even towards a strong Baylor protection that was in a position to swap on each display screen.

There’s an opportunity that Armaan Franklin and Terrence Shannon each repeat their lights-out performances from Friday and the group will get an offensive present worthy of Las Vegas within the title recreation. However the extra seemingly state of affairs is that neither crew shoots in addition to it did on Friday and the ensuing recreation turns into a lot lower-scoring and extra impacted by every crew’s execution on each ends of the ground on every possession. In that state of affairs, I consider the benefit goes to Virginia with its myriad veterans, gradual tempo, chemistry and comfortability in a system, and lockdown crew protection. UVA wins in a detailed recreation and brings dwelling one other November match championship.

Prediction: Virginia 72, Illinois 68

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See extra Virginia males’s basketball information and content material: Virginia Males’s Basketball on Sports activities Illustrated

See extra Virginia sports activities information and content material: Virginia Cavaliers on Sports activities Illustrated

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Illinois

Frost advisory overnight in Illinois, with even cooler temps possible Friday

Published

2 hours ago

October 22, 2025

Press Room

Frost advisory overnight in Illinois, with even cooler temps possible Friday

Temperatures are expected to dip considerably overnight Wednesday and into Thursday, with a frost advisory in effect for swaths of the area.

According to the National Weather Service, that advisory will go into effect at midnight and run through mid-morning Thursday in DeKalb, LaSalle, Grundy and Kankakee counties.

Temperatures are expected to hover around the freezing mark in those counties, which could produce frost that could harm sensitive outdoor vegetation, according to the alert.

Residents are advised to cover sensitive plants, or to bring them indoors if possible.

Thursday is expected to be a mostly sunny day, but cool temperatures are still expected, with high temperatures in the low-to-mid 50s across the area, according to the NBC 5 Storm Team.

While temperatures are expected to remain above the freezing mark on Wednesday night and into Thursday in communities closer to Chicago, virtually the entire area could be at risk of frost Thursday night and into Friday, according to forecast models. Temperatures in outlying areas away from the urban heat island could even see lows in the upper-200s, which could result in a freeze, according to the National Weather Service.

Areas closer to Chicago could still see frost overnight into Friday morning before a small warming trend takes hold.

After another day in the low-to-mid 50s Friday, Saturday’s readings could be warmer, potentially approaching 60 degrees during the day. Conditions will still be on the cool side overnight, but lows will likely be in the upper-30s or low-40s, according to forecast models.

Late Sunday, a round of showers could arrive in the area and stick around until Monday morning, with the accompanying front potentially causing temps to drop back into the mid-to-upper 5s across the area. More rain could arrive Tuesday, and that system could stick around through Wednesday, producing rain and cloudy skies in the region.

While the Halloween forecast is still being evaluated, there is a chance readings could be in the upper-50s for trick-or-treaters, with partly-to-mostly cloudy skies in the forecast for the big night.

Stay tuned to the NBC 5 Storm Team for all the latest weather news and forecasts, and download the NBC Chicago app for real-time weather alerts sent directly to your phone.

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Illinois

Opening statements Wednesday in trial of ex-Illinois officer who killed Sonya Massey

Published

21 hours ago

October 22, 2025

Press Room

Opening statements Wednesday in trial of ex-Illinois officer who killed Sonya Massey

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Fifteen months after Sonya Massey, a Black woman who had called 911 for help, was killed in her home, the former police officer who fired the fatal shot is set to go on trial.

Sean Grayson, 31, a former deputy for the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department in central Illinois, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder.

The trial was scheduled to begin Wednesday with opening statements. If convicted of murder, Grayson faces a sentence of 45 years to life in prison. Prosecutors dismissed single counts of aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.

On July 6, 2024, Massey, a 36-year-old single mother of two teenagers who struggled with mental health issues, called emergency responders over a suspected prowler. When Grayson, who is white, and another deputy entered her Springfield home to report finding no one, Grayson noticed a pan of hot water on the stove and ordered it removed.

According to body-camera video that is certain to play a key role in the trial, Grayson and Massey joked about how the deputy backed away as she moved the pan before Massey said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” Grayson later told sheriff’s investigators he thought Massey’s statement meant she intended to kill him, yelled at her to drop the pot and in the subsequent commotion, fired three shots, striking her just below the eye.

The incident has prompted continued questions about U.S. law enforcement shootings of Black people in their homes and generated a change in Illinois law requiring fuller transparency on the background of candidates for law enforcement jobs.

A jury of 10 women and five men, including three alternates, will hear testimony that’s predicted to end next week. The questioning of prospective jurors on Monday by Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser and defense attorney Daniel Fultz focused on attitudes toward law enforcement during a volatile time in America.

In this image taken from body camera video released by Illinois State Police, Sonya Massey, left, talks with former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson outside her home in Springfield, Ill., July 6, 2024. Credit: AP/Uncredited

Witnesses scheduled to testify for both the state and defense are reported to be experts in police training, generally accepted police practices, use of force, body camera video, use of video in investigations and the review of incidents involving the use of force.

The national attention the case has garnered prompted Sangamon County Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin to move the trial from Springfield to Peoria, 167 miles (269 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.

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Illinois

When’s the best time to see fall colors in Illinois from Rockford to Carbondale

Published

2 days ago

October 21, 2025

Press Room

When’s the best time to see fall colors in Illinois from Rockford to Carbondale

Jack Ivanic
| Special to the Rockford Register Star

When it comes to fall colors, Illinois stretches the season longer than most states, with colors starting in northern Illinois in late September and peaking in the south well into November.

Each year, websites like SmokyMountains.com publish a fall foliage prediction map that shows stages such as patchy, partial, near-peak, peak, and past-peak across the country. While the map is focused primarily on the eastern U.S. and regions like the Smoky Mountains, it also provides a helpful nationwide context and visual timeline for seasonal leaf change.

Here’s what the fall color timeline looks like across Illinois.

Northern Illinois: Late September to mid-October

If you live near Chicago, Rockford, or the Galena area, you’ll see the first hints of color before the rest of the state. Leaves in northern Illinois usually begin to change by the third or fourth week of September.

The peak display arrives around the second or third week of October. Popular spots include Starved Rock State Park, Matthiessen State Park, Rock Cut State Park, and the Great River Road, which runs along the Mississippi.

Central Illinois: Early to Late October

In the heart of the state, from Springfield to Peoria and Champaign, trees hold their green a little longer. Color typically starts to appear in the first half of October.

By the middle to late part of the month, central Illinois hits its stride.

City parks, forest preserves, and stretches of rural highway all light up. Spots such as Allerton Park near Monticello and the Sangamon River Valley as reliable fall color destinations.

Southern Illinois: Late October to Early November

Farther south, warm temperatures delay the season. Expect to see changes beginning in the last two weeks of October, with the best colors holding into early November.

In Southern Illinois, you’ll find some of the most memorable fall backdrops in the state. Rock formations at Shawnee National Forest’s Garden of the Gods and the bluffs of Giant City State Park provide great viewing points.

What to Wear

Packing smart can make your fall color adventure more comfortable. Mornings in Illinois can be chilly, while afternoons often warm up quickly. A light jacket or fleece paired with a long-sleeve shirt gives you flexibility. Comfortable walking shoes or hiking boots are important if you plan to explore trails in parks. Packing items such as hats, gloves, and even a scarf can come in handy if temperatures drop, especially on bluffs and overlooks where the wind picks up.

Planning Your Visit

From late September in the north to early November in the south, Illinois delivers a long season of color worth exploring. The good news is that Illinois offers a six- to eight-week window for watching the fall colors. If you miss the show in one part of the state, you can always head a little farther south and catch it there.

Jack Ivanic is a freelance contributor to the Rockford Register Star.

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