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Washington Men’s Basketball vs. #22 Illinois: Game Preview & How to Watch

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Washington Men’s Basketball vs. #22 Illinois: Game Preview & How to Watch


How to Watch (and bet)

Date: Sunday, 1/5/25

Tip-Off Time: 1:00 pm PT

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: Huskies Gameday App, Sports Radio KJR

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Location: Seattle, Washington

Betting Line: Washington Huskies +10

Illinois Fighting Illini 2024-25 Statistics:

Record: 10-3 (2-1)

Points For per Game: 88.2 ppg (5th)

Points Against per Game: 66.5 ppg (55th)

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Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 119.5 (15th)

Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 93.5 (7th)

Strength of Schedule: 44th

Illinois Key Players:

G- Kylan Boswell, Jr. 6’2, 205: 11.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.1 apg, 36.1% FG, 27.6% 3pt, 76.7% FT

Husky fans are familiar with Boswell as he spent the last 2 seasons at Arizona. He hasn’t quite lived up to the billing he had as a former 5-star recruit and is shooting a career worst on 3-pointers by far. Although he hit 4/5 against Oregon on Thursday. Boswell is a good passer but has been Illinois’ secondary ball handler for the most part despite career bests in both assist and turnover rate so far.

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G- Kasparas Jakucionis, Fr. 6’6, 205: 16.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 5.4 apg, 49.2% FG, 42.9% 3pt, 86.8% FT

The Lithuanian freshman superstar is the big reason for Illinois not skipping a beat despite almost entirely flipping their roster from last year. He’s a jumbo point guard who is efficient shooting from everywhere on the court. If there’s one nitpick it’s that he commits way too many turnovers with 3.7 per game but despite that he is still a well above average offensive player given he does everything else well.

G- Tre White, Sr. 6’7, 210: 10.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.1 apg, 56.4% FG, 34.8% 3pt, 90.2% FT

White had a great freshman season at USC, transferred to a bad Louisville team last year, and now is thriving again on Illinois. He has been unstoppable inside the arc in Big Ten play so far shooting 82.4% on 2’s and 92.9% from the FT line in their 3 conference games. That includes a 20 pts, 11 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk game against Oregon this week. He doesn’t take a lot of him but it certainly doesn’t hurt that he also is shooting a career best on 3’s. Look at just about any rate stat and it’s a career high for White so far.

F- Ben Humirichous, Sr. 6’9, 225: 8.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.0 apg, 41.1% FG, 36.5% 3pt, 60.0% FT

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You could argue that Humirichous is maybe the only disappointment on this Illinois roster so far. He shot 42.1% from deep last year at Evansville and that is down a little bit to 36.5% and just 28.6% in B1G play. Although like the rest of the team he broke out with 4/7 from deep against Oregon and a season-best 18 points. The other thing that has backslid is his rebounding. Looking at his statistical profile it’s about what you’d expect for a 6’2 SG who does nothing but take 3-pointers.

C- Tomislav Ivisic, Fr. 7’1, 255: 14.2 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 53.0% FG, 37.9% 3pt, 73.3% FT

Technically, Ivisic is a sophomore in terms of eligibility as that was the NCAA compromise after the Croatian spent some time playing professionally in Europe. His brother plays at Arkansas but this Ivisic has come in and been dominant right away. He’s top-ten in the Big Ten in both offensive and defensive rebounding and is shooting 65% on 2’s and 38% on 3’s while also almost never turning over the ball. In Big Ten play so far he has actually taken more 3-pointers than 2-pointers despite being 7’1 so he sometimes is prone to settling for outside shots.

The Outlook

It’s fair to say that both teams are coming off of their best wins of the season on Thursday night. Washington was able to beat a top-25 Maryland team at home by 6 points. Good. Illinois meanwhile set an NCAA record for the biggest margin of victory over an AP Top-Ten team on the road with a 109-77 win. Yikes.

Before the Oregon game it would’ve been fair to question Illinois’ ability to win on the road. They lost by 13 to Alabama in a semi-away game and lost in OT to Northwestern at the beginning of December. But then they crushed Oregon into a fine powder by shooting 26/44 (59.1%) inside the arc and 16/29 (55.2%) beyond it.

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It seems unlikely to think that Illinois can have that kind of performance again. Illinois has now scored at least 109 points in back-to-back games but even with that taken into consideration they still shoot just 34.9% on 3’s for the season. Of their 7 leaders in 3-point attempts this season, 4 of them shoot between 35% and 38%. It’s a team of guys who are good from deep but not quite lights out status.

Washington’s last 3 opponents have combined to shoot 9/46 (19.6%) from deep and on the season the Huskies rank in the top-20 nationally in both 3-point% defense and preventing opponents from attempting 3-point shot. Illinois doesn’t make a crazy percentage overall but they take 50% of their shots on the season from deep. It will be up to Washington to make them uncomfortable and force them to drive the ball as Illinois is 350th nationally in percentage of their points coming on 2-pointers.

There’s no reason though to think that Washington will light it up from deep. The Huskies have crawled out of their early shooting hole and are now merely bad rather than horrendous from deep at 32.2%. Illinois is also elite at preventing 3’s and rank 6th in opponent 3-pt% at 27.2% and 30th in preventing 3-point shots. It will be a struggle for Washington to even reach average although the Huskies still beat Maryland without doing so on Thursday.

It’s an interesting defensive strategy for Illinois but one that clearly works. The Illini are 12th or better in opponent shooting percentage on 2’s, 3’s and FTs. Almost no one is efficient shooting on them. They also rank 9th in defensive rebounding rate so they don’t allow second chance points.

There only 2 reasons anyone scores on Illinois. The first is that they are 333rd nationally in opponent turnover rate. They will guard the hell out of you but they aren’t going to gamble in the passing lanes or get overaggressive with their hands. The Huskies absolutely can’t throw the ball away and help Illinois in that regard. The Illini also play with the 18th fastest pace in the country so they want to run up and down and increase the number of total possessions. We’ll see if that helps or hurts the Huskies.

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There will be opportunities inside for Great Osobor. Illinois has only one true shot blocker and it’s their backup center who plays about 14 minutes per game. Washington will need to repeatedly get the ball inside and score at the basket particularly in transition rather than settle for three-point shots. They’ll also need to aggressively chase Illinois off the three-point line and hope that they experience some regression to the mean with their outside shooting.

Thursday night’s game kicked off a stretch of 7 straight games against teams that rank in the top-27 at KenPom and 11 of 12 against top-45 teams. That’s absolutely brutal and even clawing out a 3-4 record in those first 7 contests would be a clear sign of progress for Washington. A good but not great Northwestern team held Illinois to 56 points in regulation and beat them in overtime last month. It’s possible. But it’s certainly not the most likely outcome.

Prediction

Washington Huskies– 75, Illinois Fighting Illini- 84



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Illinois

Montana State wins the 2025-26 FCS football National Championship in overtime thriller

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8 hours ago

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January 6, 2026

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Montana State wins the 2025-26 FCS football National Championship in overtime thriller


The drought is over! We repeat, the drought is over! Montana State has won the FCS Championship for the first time since 1984, breaking a 41-year drought.

The Bobcats won the 2025-26 FCS Championship with a 35-34 win over Illinois State in overtime, holding off the Redbirds in the an overtime classic.

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Walk-off overtime TD on 4th down to clinch 2026 FCS Championship

After Illinois State scored two fourth quarter touchdowns, the Redbirds had a shot at a game-winning field goal with just over one minute to play. That’s when the kick was blocked! The game proceeded to overtime.

In overtime, Illinois State got the ball first and scored a touchdown to take the lead. That’s when the extra-point try was blocked as special teams miscues proved costly for Illinois State.

However, Montana State still had to respond with a touchdown of their own. Facing 4th-and-10, quarterback Justin Lamson hit wide receiver Taco Dowler for the game-tying score. To win the game, Colby Frokjer knocked in the game-winning PAT.

The game-winning touchdown earned Lamson Most Outstanding Player honors. He completed 67 percent of his passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns, rushing for 30 yards and two scores.

It’s the first championship of the Brent Vigen era in Bozeman as the head coach lifts the trophy for the first in his third championship game appearance. The win is also the Big Sky’s first over the MVFC in a championship game, bringing the all time record to 4-1.

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Full finish: CHAOTIC Q4 ending, FIRST-EVER FCS title game overtime





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Illinois

‘Very high’ levels of flu cases reported in Illinois amid ‘significant winter surge’

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20 hours ago

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January 5, 2026

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‘Very high’ levels of flu cases reported in Illinois amid ‘significant winter surge’


What to Know

  • -Children between the ages of 5-17 are seeing the highest impact in the surge in cases in Illinois
  • -COVID cases are also on the rise, with “moderate” levels reported by the CDC
  • -Illinois health officials say just 22% of the state’s residents have received flu immunizations, while 6.8% have received COVID vaccine boosters

Hospital admissions and positive tests for influenza are soaring in Illinois, prompting warnings and concerns from health officials.

According to an update Monday from the Illinois Department of Public Health, flu activity in the state has climbed to “very high” levels in recent days, the most severe of five categories of respiratory illness activity used by the CDC.

Data available via the IDPH’s Seasonal Respiratory Illness Dashboard shows that more than 19% of emergency room visits in Illinois during the last reporting period were due to acute respiratory illness, with more than 18% of hospital admissions attributed to those illnesses.

Acute respiratory illnesses include the flu as well as COVID-19 and RSV, according to officials.

COVID-19 rates are also on the rise, increasing to “moderate” levels in the state according to the CDC.

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The CDC uses wastewater monitoring to help detect viruses infecting people in a community, according to its website.

The bulk of hospital admissions and ER visits associated with respiratory illnesses were made because of flu symptoms, according to officials.

Health officials in Illinois are warning of a new and unexpected mutation that could make for a “more serious flu season.” Natalie Martinez has more.

Data shows that the spike in illnesses is having a serious impact on those residents under the age of 18. Children between the ages of 5 and 17 are most impacted by hospital admissions related to acute respiratory illnesses and the flu, while residents over the age of 65 are most impacted by COVID-19.

In the press release, Illinois also reported its first influenza death in a child this season.

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“Illinois is facing a significant winter surge in seasonal respiratory illnesses with flu activity at very high levels,” Dr. Sameer Vohra, IDPH director, said. “Vaccinations remain the most effective tool to prevent severe illness from flu, COVID-19 and RSV.”

That push for vaccinations comes as approximately 22% of state residents have received flu shots, according to Illinois health officials. Even though flu season peaks in January and February, officials caution that it can last into May, making vaccination a smart strategy in containing spread of the illness.

In addition to vaccines, washing hands frequently is critical to preventing spread of the illness, as is covering coughs and sneezes, and wearing a mask when ill.

Antiviral treatments can also minimize symptoms and speed up recovery, but must be sought in the early stages of the illness to be effective, officials warn.

More information can be found on IDPH’s website.

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Illinois

Former Michigan State QB Katin Houser lands at new Big Ten program

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1 day ago

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January 5, 2026

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Former Michigan State QB Katin Houser lands at new Big Ten program


ECU Pirates quarterback Katin Houser has committed to transfer to the Illinois Fighting Illini per On3’s Hayes Fawcett. He previously played for the Michigan State Spartans.

Katin Houser played his high school football at St. John Bosco in Bellflower, California. There, he was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2022. Houser had been the 210th-ranked player nationally and the 13th-ranked quarterback in that recruiting cycle. He’d initially attend Michigan State, choosing the Spartans over several Power Four options.

In 2022, Houser’s first year with Michigan State, he would appear in two games and utilize his redshirt. That’s before he played in 11 games during the 2023 season, before transferring out alongside a coaching change at Michigan State. In the end, he landed at ECU.

Houser has spent the last two seasons at ECU. While there, he would play in 21 games over two seasons. In both of those years, Houser would help lead the Pirates to bowl wins. It was the first back-to-back bowl wins for the program since the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

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Individually, Houser has found plenty of success too. In 2025 alone, Houser completed 65.9 percent of his passes for 3,300 yards and 19 touchdowns. That was against six interceptions. He also rushed for 181 yards and another nine touchdowns.

For his career, Katin Houser has played in 34 total games. He has completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 6,438 yards and 43 touchdowns. That’s against 22 interceptions. He also has 352 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns for his career.

Illinois is coming off two excellent seasons under Bret Bielema, when the Illini were quarterbacked by Luke Altmyer. During that time, Illinois went 19-7 with two bowl wins. For Illinois, it was the program’s first back-to-back bowl wins since 2010 and 2011. 19 wins was also their most wins in program history over a two-season stretch. Now, however, Altmyer is out of eligibility, meaning Bielema needs to find the quarterback of the future.

This offseason will see Illinois overhaul its roster. The Fighting Illini have already had 25 transfers. That includes quarterback Trey Petty. Along with Katin Houser, Illinois has also added transfer quarterback Maurice Smith from the portal. He’s coming from Division II Chowan University. So, it’s safe to say that Illinois isn’t done with its Transfer Portal additions just yet.

One interesting note in the upcoming 2026 schedule. Illinois is set to play at Michigan State, which will act as a kind of homecoming game for Katin Houser. The date and time for that game aren’t set yet.

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