Latest news with #KylanBoswell
CBS News
25-03-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Underwood, Illini begin rebuild after being eliminated from NCAA Tournament
The Fighting Illini are out of the NCAA Tournament — they were plagued by turnovers against Kentucky in the second round on Sunday evening, and went on to lose 84-75. While a majority of the team — including Kylan Boswell, Tre White, Tomislav Ivisic, and Morez Johnson could likely run it back next season, the transfer portal opened on Monday — and Head Coach Brad Underwood's work to rebuild now begins. How much work is cut out for Underwood depends on what Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley decide to do. Both are expected to be NBA Draft picks. "No idea if it's the last or not the last," said Jakucionis, "but this year, I think I learned a lot. I grew a lot as a player and as a person." "That would be awesome if they came back, but I know for a fact those two have got to go just live out their streams," added Boswell. Underwood emphasized that the rebuild process has just begun. "It's literally just next step. It's speed dating. It's gathering information," he said. "We've got a pretty good idea of that. We've got a lot of really smart people on our staff who have been working really hard at it, gathering information, figuring out what our roster looks like for '25-'26."
CBS News
23-03-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Illinois seeks to return to Sweet 16 in second-round NCAA Tournament matchup with Kentucky
For the fourth time in the last five years, the Fighting Illini have won an NCAA Tournament game. Now the goal is getting back to the Sweet 16, something they haven't done in consecutive seasons since 2005. Illinois was back at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Saturday, getting ready for their 2nd round matchup against the Kentucky Wildcats. It X was marks the spot for the 6-seed Fighting Illini after their convincing first round win over Xavier. They're now focused on bringing that same energy and effort against 3-seed Kentucky with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line. "It's gonna be a big-time game. It's crazy playing the Kentucky Wildcats. For me, I've always watched them growing up, and it's a different program now, but still has the same name right upon their chest. So it'll be huge for us," Illini junior guard Kylan Boswell said. Illinois wants to ride the wave from another sea of orange and blue in the stands in Milwaukee against one of college basketball's Big Blue blood brands. "It's definitely a war zone, a battle for real. You know, our whole arena was orange last night. I know Kentucky, they travel in numbers too, so I know it's going to be a great environment," Illini junior guard Tre White said. "I think it's gonna be pretty electric; two well-educated crazy fan bases," assistant coach Orlando Antigua said. Antigua knows that first-hand, having worked at both Kentucky and Illinois twice. The Illini achieved their first goal of advancing to the second round of the tournament, but remain focused on their ultimate mission – making a Final Four run, and winning the school's first-ever national championship. On Sunday afternoon, they're facing a vaunted program with eight NCAA title banners, but they match up well with this version of the Kentucky Wildcats, which also has dealt with a roster overhaul and key injuries. "We like the matchup a lot; really good guards on their end, but also for us, and then the big play, too. We've been watching a lot of film on them. These teams are good, so they're going to put up a battle. I'm really glad Coach Underwood gave us a really tough schedule," Boswell said. "They play a little bit similar like us; with great pace, shooting a lot of 3s, going for offensive rebounds. So we just have to be ourselves, trust the process, and execute," freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis said. Both teams frequently score 80-plus points in games, so Kentucky grad student guard Jaxson Robinson is expecting a fast-paced game, with "both teams making big-time shots." "I feel like it's just going to come down to defensively, and how we execute that," he said. Clearly the March Madness stage isn't too big for freshman forward Will Riley. The normally stoic Riley came out of his shell with a team-high 22 points in the win over Xavier, unleashing some rare emotion in front of the partisan Illini crowd. "You see Will got an and-one, hyping up the crowd, everybody getting 3s," White said. "That's just March." "I just felt it was right. I needed to get the crowd into the game, and it's March, so now's the time to do it," Riley said. "To me, that's what this tournament brings out, just fun and emotion and the raw passion for the game. I've said those guys love the game," head coach Brad Underwood said. Underwood pointed to his team's challenging non-conference schedule. The Illini played four SEC teams that reached the tournament teams, helping to prepare them for March Madness moments like this against Kentucky. Old school Illini fans are hoping for some home cooking in Milwaukee, unlike the last NCAA Tournament meeting against Kentucky 41 years ago – a controversial Illinois loss in Lexington. if the Illini get another performance Riley like they got against Xavier, they should be in good shape. Riley had 22 points, the most ever for an Illini freshman in an NCAA Tournament game. He also made 3 of 4 three-point attempts, including the dagger late to give Illinois an 84-69 lead with less than two minutes left. He also had a season-high tying 2 blocks. Illinois and Kentucky tip-off at 4:15 p.m. Central time on Sunday in Milwaukee, and you can watch the game on CBS.
New York Times
02-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Illinois downs No. 15 Michigan, dropping Wolverines behind Michigan State in tight Big Ten race
Michigan's hopes of winning at least a share of the Big Ten regular season men's basketball championship took a major hit Sunday when unranked Illinois dismantled the No. 15 Wolverines in Ann Arbor, 93-73. Illinois thumped Michigan in the second half, outscoring the Wolverines 62-43 after the break. Advertisement The loss drops Michigan to 22-7 overall and 14-4 in conference play, one game behind No. 8 Michigan State, which took care of Wisconsin 71-62 earlier Sunday to maintain the top spot in Big Ten standings. Michigan and MSU meet in the teams' regular season finale next Sunday, March 9, in East Lansing. While a conference championship would be nice — and is still in play depending on what happens in the Wolverines' final two games vs. No. 16 Maryland and Michigan State — what really matters is receiving a double bye in the Big Ten tournament, an advantage given to the top four seeds. Even after losing to Illinois, Michigan is in a position to get one of those double byes. The Big Ten tournament starts March 12 in Indianapolis. But if the Wolverines are going to make any sort of run during the conference tournament they'll need to work on defensive rebounding. Illinois dominated Michigan on the glass Sunday, outrebounding the Wolverines 43-32, including 19 offensive boards that the Fighting Illini turned into 30 second-chance points. Illinois' tenacity on the boards, coupled with its 14 made 3s, helped the Illini build as much as a 21-point lead late in the second half. Seven Illinois players scored seven points or more, led by Kylan Boswell and Jakucionis Kasparov, who each scored 17. Tre White chipped in 19 points and 11 rebounds to record his second double-double of the season. Illinois is considered a tournament team already, but every win — especially of the Quad 1 variety — helps improve seeding. Sunday's win at Michigan was Illinois' seventh Quad 1 victory of the season. Vladislav Goldin led Michigan with 22 points and seven rebounds. He was the only Michigan player in double figures.
Chicago Tribune
26-02-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Tomislav Ivišić scores 22 points to lead Illinois past Iowa and end a three-game losing streak
CHAMPAIGN — Tomislav Ivišić scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half and Illinois men's basketball recovered from its big loss to No. 3 Duke by beating Iowa 81-61 on Tuesday. Kylan Boswell and Will Riley each scored 15 points and Tre White had 14 for the Fighting Illini (18-11, 10-8 Big Ten), which shot 50.8% (32 for 63). The Illini ended a three-game losing streak against teams that were all ranked, including No. 11 Michigan State and No. 11 Wisconsin. The average margin of defeat was 26 points including the 110-67 loss to the Blue Devils in New York's Madison Square Garden. Brock Harding scored 16 points and Josh Dix 11 for the Hawkeyes (15-13, 6-11). The Illini built a 19-6 lead and went to intermission up 37-30 in a first half in which they never trailed. They started the second half in nearly identical fashion as the first by outscoring the Hawkeyes 19-8 in the first five-and-a-half minutes and led 56-38. The Hawkeyes travel to Northwestern to face the Wildcats on Friday. The Illini take to the road to face No. 15 Michigan on Sunday.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ivisic scores 22 to lead Illinois past Iowa and end three-game losing streak
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Tomislav Ivisic scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half and Illinois recovered from its beat down at the hands of Duke by beating Iowa 81-61 on Tuesday night. Kylan Boswell and Will Riley each scored 15 points and Tre White had 14 for Illinois (18-11, 10-8 Big Ten), which shot 50.8% (32 for 63). The Illini ended a three-game losing streak which occurred against teams that were all ranked (No. 11 Michigan State, No. 11 Wisconsin and No. 3 Duke.). The average margin of defeat was 26 points including the 110-67 loss against Duke in New York's Madison Square Garden. Brock Harding scored 16 points and Josh Dix 11 for Iowa (15-13, 6-11). The Illini built a 19-6 lead and went to intermission up 37-30 in a first half in which they never trailed. They started the second half in near identical fashion as the first by outscoring the Hawkeyes 19-8 in the first five-and-a-half minutes and led 56-38. The Hawkeyes travel to Northwestern to face the Wildcats on Friday. Illinois takes to the road to face 15th-ranked Michigan on Sunday. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women's college basketball: and The Associated Press
