The Champaign Room
A Fighting Illini community since 2012
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Illinois soccer earns first Big Ten Tournament berth since 2020
Illinois soccer has earned the opportunity to continue its record-setting 2025 season. The bracket was revealed for the 10-team, single-elimination Big Ten Women’s Soccer Tournament on Sunday, with the Orange & Blue clinching the #9 seed. Illinois will match up with 8-seed Ohio State this Thursday at Purdue University, with the victors advancing to play […]
FanDuel: Illinois big favorite to beat Rutgers
The CFP is out of the picture, but Illinois needs a win in the worst way. And FanDuel Sportsbook has the Illini as a big favorite to beat Rutgers in Champaign this weekend. Illinois opened Sunday as a 12.5-point favorite over the Scarlet Knights. The moneyline for the Illini is -465, while the over/under is […]
What Illinois’ No. 6 KenPom ranking says about March potential
Illinois checks in at No. 6 in KenPom’s 2025-26 Preseason Ratings, something I believe that pleasantly surprised many Illini fans. That is a decent-sized jump from the No. 17 spot awarded to them in the preseason AP Poll. KenPom is a predictive model that ranks teams based on a set of advanced efficiency metrics. The […]
Loss to Washington pushes Illinois out of CFP conversation
SEATTLE — After losing to the Washington Huskies on the road, the Illini fall to 5-3 on the season, a record that will likely put them out of reach of making the College Football Playoff. The narrative surrounding Saturday’s game was that it was a playoff elimination game, meaning that if either the Illini or […]
Third down defense dooms Illini in loss to Washington
SEATTLE, Wash. — Whenever there is rain and heavy winds forecasted for a football game, many fans assume the game will be a defensive slugfest. Washington did not get that memo in their dismantling of the Fighting Illini. The Washington Huskies offense had their way with the Illini defense, scoring touchdowns on six of eight […]
Illinois loses more than just a game in ugly collapse at Washington
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON — There was always a potential for turbulence on Saturday afternoon, with slippery conditions looming at a consistently hostile Husky Stadium on top of a West Coast cross-country trip. But no-show performance on defense led to a second-half collapse to Washington, 42 – 25. With Saturday’s loss, Illinois lost any hope of maintaining […]
Top 2026 prospect commits to Illinois
We’re already seeing that Brad Underwood has confidence in his true freshmen this year with Brandon Lee and Keaton Wagler. So it’s no shock that BU keeps hitting the high school ranks for prospects, even in the era of the transfer portal. In a social media post on Friday, four-star guard Lucas Morillo committed to […]
Illinois catches major break from official at Washington
Never feels like Illinois gets that kind of call. Luke Altmyer threw a pick in the endzone, just before the two-minute timeout at Washington on Saturday. But an official threw a flag for interference and it turned a 2nd & 20 interception, into a 1st & goal for the Illini. I wish I could find […]
Illinois’ chance for the CFP starts Saturday
To steal from the once popular Kim Possible: “HERE’S THE SITCH” The Fighting Illini football team sits at a 5-2 record with five games left. It starts this weekend in Seattle vs. the Washington Huskies. The Huskies are 5-2 as well, and even though Illinois is back in the rankings at No. 23, they are […]
Previewing the Washington Huskies with The Dawg Pound’s Mark Schafer
The Illini head to Seattle this weekend for a daunting matchup against a stacked Washington Huskies squad. Both teams enter the game 5-2. To help break down Jedd Fisch’s squad, we asked Mark Schafer of our sister site the UW Dawg Pound to provide deeper insight. The Champaign Room: Illinois has found some success in […]
‘22-9 seems like a reasonable expectation’: Our Illinois hoops insider breaks down the 2025 schedule
On this episode of “Oskee Talk” former Illini men’s basketball manager Robby Nardini joins me to review Illinois’ exhibition win versus Illinois State & look ahead to the regular season. We also take a deeper dive into the non-conference and Big Ten schedules and predict win totals for men’s & women’s hoops. Click HERE to […]
‘It’s all love’: Illinois set for Seattle reunion with Ryan Walters
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The 2022 Illinois Fighting Illini defense was good. Like, really really good. So good that one player from the secondary was a top-five pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. So good that two other defenders were drafted in the second and fourth round. So good that a young defensive coordinator was hired […]
How to Watch Illinois at Washington: Game Time, TV Channel, Online Streaming and Odds
How to Watch No. 23 Illinois at Washington Game Time: 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday TV Channel: BTN Online Streaming: FoxSports.com Odds: ILL +4.5, O/U 54.5 Quick Hits: Illinois Fighting Illini (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) Head Coach: Bret Bielema (5th season, 33-24 overall) Last Game: 34-16 loss to Ohio State Gameday Reading: Washington Huskies (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) Head coach: Jedd […]
‘We’re trying to go 1-0 every week’: Illinois faces tough environment in Seattle
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — After their first bye week of the season, the No. 23 Illini are faced with a tall task in heading to the West Coast to take on the Washington Huskies. Playing in Seattle, at Husky Stadium, has been historically difficult for opposing teams. Over the past three years, the Huskies have thrived […]
Big Ten Basketball Season Preview Part 3: Going Dancing
9. Oregon Predicted Starting Lineup Jackson Shelstad, Junior, 13.7 ppg/2.9 rpg/2.7 apg Shelstad is a lightning quick three-level scorer who only needs a sliver of space to find a path to the rim or get up a pull-up jumper. He just sustained a hand injury that will keep him out 4-6 weeks but should be […]
Brad Underwood built another deep — and loaded — Illinois roster
It seems like Brad Underwood’s Illinois teams get deeper every single season. For each of the past several seasons, offseason hoops talks revolve around how much talent and depth Underwood has accumulated. That depth was on display in Illinois’ first public showing on Sunday, a 92-65 win in an exhibition against Illinois State. Despite three […]
Kickoff time announced for Illinois’ game vs. Rutgers
Illinutgers 2025 will be on NBC. The Big Ten announced on Monday that Illinois’ Nov. 1 showdown vs. Rutgers will kick off at 11 a.m. from Champaign. The game is already sold out, the Illini’s fourth consecutive sellout. It’s also Dads Day. There are two more home games on the schedule after Rutgers. It’s Maryland […]
Illinois’ star-studded freshmen showcased potential in exhibition
Illinois cruised to a 92-65 win over Illinois State in their exhibition game at State Farm Center on Sunday. Tomislav Ivisic, Andrej Stojakovic, and Mihailo Petrovic did not play due to injury, but the Illini freshmen stepped up in a big way. “I was very pleased with our freshmen,” said head coach Brad Underwood. Montenegrin […]
Illinois’ Ben Humrichous engaged to former Illini basketball star
An Illini love story. Hours after Illinois’ exhibition win over Illinois State, forward Ben Humrichous made headlines on Instagram, announcing his engagement to former Illini women’s basketball star Adalia McKenzie. “All I can say is… Praise God!!” Humrichous wrote in the post. It’s not clear to me when they started dating, but I’d be led […]
Big Ten Basketball Season Preview Part 2: Bubble Teams
14. Nebraska Predicted Starting Lineup Kendall Blue, Senior, 12.3 ppg/4.4 rpg/2.4 apg at Saint Thomas Blue was an efficient scorer in the Summit League last year, shooting 51% from the field and 42% from three. He has some secondary creation ability, but isn’t really a natural point guard. Connor Essegian, Senior, 10.7 ppg/2.8 rpg/1.1 apg […]
Mirkovic and Ivisic with stellar debuts in Illinois’ exhibition win
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois’ newcomers look pretty good. International additions David Mirkovic and Zvonimir Ivisic delivered a promising performance to Illinois fans in the Illini’s 92-65 exhibition win over Illinois State on Sunday afternoon at State Farm Center. With the Illini missing three key players in Andrej Stojakovic, Mihailo Petrovic and Tomislav Ivisic, fans were […]
Illinois re-enters AP poll after bye week
Well, well, well. A week off from football did the Illini well in the eyes of the voters. After being dropped from No. 17 to unranked after a 34-16 loss to Ohio State, Bret Bielema’s crew found itself back in the top 25 on Sunday after a bunch of losses by teams at the bottom […]
FanDuel: Illinois opens as underdog at Washington
Illinois has only traveled to the west coast once since the Pac-12 schools joined the Big Ten, and we don’t need to relive that tragedy in Eugene. The Illini find themselves in Seattle next week, and the fine people at FanDuel don’t like their chances. Illinois (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) opened on Sunday as a […]
How Illinois can still make the College Football Playoff
As the Fighting Illini enter the bye week at 5-2, and one win away from being bowl eligible, you can not help but think, is there really any chance the Illini have to make the College Football Playoff? Well I am here to tell you there is a path, and it is not one that […]
How Illinois can make the most out of its bye week
After the 34-16 loss to Ohio State, the Illini have the week off. Now, of course, they will use the time to get some players fully healthy, such as Kaden Feagin and Ca’Lil Valentine, to name a couple. but some glaring questions will have to be answered before next weekend’s trip to Seattle to take […]
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