Recently in University of Illinois Category

The Daily Illini reports: Former Illini guard Cory Bradford (1998-2002) is embarrassed on behalf of his alma mater's recent performances.

"The guys have really just been inconsistent," Bradford put it bluntly.

"It's painful to watch sometimes," he added. "The ability's there, the talent is there and the leadership is there, but they just can't get it all consistently. You see them win three straight games, and then the next three games you're like, 'What the hell just happened?'"

Bradford, who ranks fifth in the all-time record books in scoring, blames the inconsistency of this year's team on the fact that Illinois doesn't have enough vocal leadership.

Get the full story at dailyillini.com.

Big Ten tournament: Reasons to believe and to doubt the teams

CHAMPAIGN - Sunday wasn't the first time Illinois coach Bruce Weber and guard Demetri McCamey had, shall we say, a moment, and it certainly won't be the last (assuming McCamey does not enter the NBA Draft after this season).

But for as much as Weber gets on McCamey, it never seems to become a distraction.

Weber says what he says. McCamey hears it and that's that.

So it is, too, after their tiff Sunday during Illinois' 72-57 loss to Wisconsin.

Illinois' Demetri McCamey was named first team All Big Ten Monday by conference coaches and media members, while Northwestern's John Shurna was named to the second team.

Ohio State's Evan Turner was named the player of the year. Illinois guard D.J. Richardson was named freshman of the year by the coaches; the media selected Northwestern's Drew Crawford, who was also a conference honorable mention by the media.

Purdue's Matt Painter was the coach's selection for coach of the year; Ohio State's Thad Matta was the media pick.

By Chris Hine

With the conclusion of Big Ten play on Sunday, the matchups are set for the Big Ten tournament, which begins Thursday at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. All times are CT.

See the full bracket here.

Photo: Last season, it was Purdue and Robbie Hummel celebrating the Big Ten title in Indianapolis. (Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images)

By Chris Hine

CHAMPAIGN -- Does Illinois have any lives left? That's the question after Wisconsin defeated the Illini 72-57 at Assembly Hall.

After Sunday's defeat, the Illini have lost five of their last six games and will need to do some damage in the Big Ten tournament if they want to gain an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. If Michigan State defeats Michigan later this afternoon, the Illini will face Wisconsin again on Friday.

Illinois managed to cut a 54-38 Wisconsin lead to 55-50, and had the ball with a chance to cut it even more.

By Chris Hine

CHAMPAIGN -- What a difference Jon Leuer makes.

The Wisconsin forward missed the Badgers last game last game against Illinois, but now Leuer is back and has helped Wisconsin build a 33-27 lead at halftime at Assembly Hall. Leuer has 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting and has four rebounds.

The Illini are had a much better offensive effort in the first half than their last two home games. Illinois shot 11-for-25 in the first half. Mike Tisdale has eight points, while Mike Davis and Bill Cole each have six.

Wisconsin benefited from crashing the offensive glass early, but the Illini did a better job boxing the Badgers out later in the half.

By Chris Hine

CHAMPAIGN -- Illinois sported new motivational T-shirts in warm-ups today, as it gets ready to face Wisconsin. They say, "Illini mission: Carpe Diem." If there ever was a time to seize the day, today is it. Most bracketologists say Illinois can lock up an NCAA bid with one more victory. Illinois would like to get two more to feel comfortable on Selection Sunday.

It's Senior Day at Assembly Hall, with Illinois honoring its senior managers and three players --  Bubba Chisholm, Dominique Keller and Richard Semrau. Semrau is a junior redshirt and could have one more year of eligibility, but has decided not to return to the team next season.

Mike Tisdale, who sat out practice Thursday with tendinitis in his right Achilles, is in today's starting lineup. Tisdale practiced Saturday without any problems.

By Chris Hine

Illinois has offered a scholarship to Mychael Henry, a 6-foot-6 junior from Orr.

Henry attended last week's Illinois game against Minnesota, and is expected to be in attendance on Sunday when the Illini take on Wisconsin, 1 p.m. at Assembly Hall.

In the class of 2011, Illinois has already received verbal commitments from Mount Carmel's Tracy Abrams and St. Ignatius College Prep's Nnanna Egwu.

Tribune News Services

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jantel Lavender controlled the middle and Samantha Prahalis took care of the perimeter work, leading No. 10 Ohio State past Illinois 66-55 in Friday's Big Ten tournament quarterfinals.

Lavender, the Big Ten player of the year, finished with 19 points and six rebounds. Prahalis had 13 points and eight assists. The Buckeyes (28-4) are the defending tourney champs and will face either Purdue or Wisconsin in Saturday's semifinals.

Illinois (16-14) was led by Jenna Smith, who had 13 points and 11 rebounds. She fell three points short of breaking Illinois' career scoring record but did set a new single-season record for rebounds at Illinois.

Tribune News Services

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jenna Smith had 23 points and a Big Ten tournament-record 19 rebounds to help Illinois beat Indiana 59-53 in a first-round game.

Smith also hit two key free throws in the final minute to end Indiana's season. Illinois had lost both regular-season games against the Hoosiers.

The Illini advanced to play No. 10 Ohio State on Friday in the quarterfinals. Lacey Simpson had 12 points, eight steals and seven assists for Illinois (16-13). Simpson's steals total was the second-most in a tournament game.

In the first game today, Michigan beat Northwestern 67-54.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Illinois did not have to face much of Ohio State's 1-3-1 zone on Tuesday and the outcome was fairly similar to the first time Illinois played Ohio State this season.

The Buckeyes defeated Illinois 73-57 on Tuesday at Value City Arena after playing mostly man-to-man defense against the Illini. And even though Illinois' offense looked good at times, Ohio State's was better.

While the defeat doesn't help Illinois' NCAA Tournament chances, it did not severely damage them either. Illinois (18-12, 10-7) still has a chance to pick up its 11th conference victory Sunday against Wisconsin.

But the Illini were left wondering what might have been against the Buckeyes (24-7, 14-4) if they had not allowed the Buckeyes' Jon Diebler to roam free, especially in the first half, and knock down seven 3-pointers.

Diebler was a big factor in Ohio State's  victory in Champaign on Feb. 14. That game might have been a warning for the Illini. Diebler had 18 points, all on 3-pointers. On Tuesday, he finished with 21 points, as the Buckeyers shot 21-for-54 from the field.

With the victory, Ohio State clinches at least a share of the Big Ten title.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The last time Illinois played Ohio State, it had just 20 points at halftime. On Tuesday, the Illini had that within the first 10 minutes of the game, but still trail the Buckeyes 37-33 at the half.

Jon Diebler has five 3-pointers for Ohio State. Brandon Paul provided a spark off the bench for Illinois with nine points and Demetri McCamey has 12.

Even though their 1-3-1 zone proved effective against Illinois in Champaign, the Buckeyes played mostly man-to-man defense in the first half. And on one possession, when they did get into their zone, McCamey found a wide open ball under the basket for a dunk.

Paul helped the Illini survive a 12-0 run from Ohio State that gave the Buckeyes a 28-21 lead with 7:16 remaining. He scored Illinois' next six points while McCamey hit a 3-pointer to tie the score at 30-30. Diebler hit just before the half ended to give Ohio State its four-point lead.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Regardless of how Illinois plays tonight against Ohio State, it appears the Illini will lock up at least the No. 5 seed and a first-day bye in the Big Ten tournament.

Michigan defeated Minnesota 83-55, which means that Illinois can finish no lower than fifth in the Big Ten standings. Ohio State can clinch at least a share of the conference regular season title with a victory.

As for tonight's game between Illinois and Ohio State, it's senior night at Value City Arena and the student section is wearing Club Tril shirts, in honor of Ohio State walk-on Mark Titus and his popular blog, Club Trillion.

The students showed up early to mock the Illini as they were warming up, however they did appreciate a stylish dunk from Jeffrey Jordan during Illinois' traditional pre-game dunk contest.

Could this be the final matchup between St. Joseph teammates Evan Turner and Demetri McCamey? McCamey said Monday he isn't sure what Turner will do after the season. On one hand, Turner could make a lot of money should he declare for the NBA Draft. On the other, McCamey said Turner is the type of kid who might not want to leave college so soon.

By Vaughn McClure

INDIANAPOLIS -- Former Illinois receiver Arrelious Benn and the rest of the receivers put their skills to the test Sunday at the NFL Scouting Combine. Here are two pool reports about Benn's performance:

Report 1

Benn got off to a good start showing the ability to adjust to the ball in the air and the talent
to catch the ball in his hands. He ran through the gauntlet with relative ease using those skills with no body catches.

However, when he had to run his routes, Benn's day went sour. He slipped on his first try on the out pattern to his left, and was tentative on his second try. He also slipped on his first try on the out to the right side, and was tentative going after the ball on his second try.

He appeared to be so concerned with keeping his feet that all his cuts and moves later were tentative. His preoccupation with keeping his feet may well have contributed to a couple of big drops later in the workout.

By Chris Hine

CHAMPAIGN -- What could have been the Illini's most impressive comeback of the season came just a bit short in a 62-60 defeat to Minnesota at Assembly Hall.

After Minnesota's Ralph Sampson III missed two free throws with 7.8 second left, Illinois had the ball with a chance to tie or win the game. But D.J. Richardson's off-balanced jumper at the end of the game fell short.

Richardson brought the Illini (18-11, 10-6) within one at 59-58 and following a defensive stop, Illinois had the ball with a chance to take the lead. But a key turnover by Demetri McCamey led to a Minnesota (17-11, 8-8) basket and the Golden Gophers had a 61-58 lead.

By Chris Hine

CHAMPAIGN -- Illinois seems to have forgotten how attack a zone defense. It struggled against Ohio State's 1-3-1 and now Minnesota holds a 24-14 lead at halftime, after playing a 2-3 zone for most of the first half.

The 14 points are Illinois' fewest amount of points in a half all season, and it nearly tied an Assembly Hall record. If not for a Mike Tisdale layup inside of 10 seconds, Illinois would have tied the record for lowest points in one half at the Hall, which was 12, set in 1982 against Purdue.

Illinois shot 7-for-31 in the half, and neither team has a player who has scored more than four points.

By Chris Hine

CHAMPAIGN -- Today's game against Minnesota is the second-to-last home game for Illinois, and the first that Michael Jordan will attend this season. A Illinois spokesman said Jordan will likely be in attendance today to watch his son, Jeff.

That ought to impress some of the recruits in attendance today, including Orr's Mycheal Henry, who just recently received a scholarship offer from Wisconsin, and is being recruited by Illinois assistant Jerrance Howard.

As for what will happen on the court today, if the Illini can combat Minnesota's size, they can clinch a first-round bye in the Big Ten tournament and can finish no worse than fifth in the conference.

By Chris Hine

CHAMPAIGN -- It's been a never-ending question since Illinois' disastrous trip to Las Vegas over Thanksgiving -- what do the Illini have to do to make the NCAA Tournament?

For Illinois coach Bruce Weber to be able to relax a little on Selection Sunday, he would like it if his team could manage to get to 12-6 in conference. The likely route to a 12-6 record is to beat Minnesota at home Saturday then split their last two games against Ohio State and Wisconsin.

"I think the next 10 days are going to be very nerve-wracking," Weber said.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The Illini must have an NCAA Tournament angel guiding them as they float along the bubble.

Illinois' goal was clear Tuesday - as long as they played with the same intensity and at the same high level as they did against Purdue, they should not have any problem defeating Michigan.

Well, the Illini failed in that respect, but basketball can be a funny game -- they still came away with an ugly 51-44 victory at the Crisler Center.

This was not the type of game to show kids who are learning how to play fundamentally sound basketball.

Illinois may have lost that close game to Purdue, but the Boilermakers are one of the hottest teams in the country. Michigan is a team trying to stay above .500. But a win is a win, and the Illini moved a step closer to securing the NCAA Tournament berth. For one, Illinois claimed victory in spite of the 17 turnovers. It won because Michigan shot so poorly, 16-for-65 from the field.

Demetri McCamey had 14 points for Illinois. Mike Davis had 13. Manny Harris had 15 for Michigan. This was Illinois' lowest offensive output of the season.

Photo: Illinois' Mike Davis shoots over Michigan's Laval Lucas-Perry (Tony Ding/AP)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Illinois leads Michigan 26-18 at halftime but probably should be up a lot more. Michigan shot just 6-for-30 in the first half, with Zack Novak accounting for three of those field goals.

Illinois' side of the stat sheet doesn't look that bad. It is shooting 10-for-22, 3-for-7 from 3-point range. The Illini do have seven turnovers that prevented them from opening up a wide margin.

Demetri McCamey and Mike Davis have seven points apiece for the Illini.

By Chris Hine

Illinois and Wisconsin have set the day and start time for their final game of the regular season, to be played at Assembly Hall: Sunday, March 7, at 11 a.m. It will be broadcast on ESPN.

In their first meeting on Feb. 9, Illinois won 63-56 at the Kohl Center, and handed Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan just his sixth conference loss at home.