Illinois men’s basketball is NIT-bound with a Number 2 seed and will host Valparaiso tomorrow night at 6:15. Jamall Walker will handle the Illini as interim head coach after the firing of John Groce on Saturday. Groce had two years remaining on his contract and will be paid the balance of $1.7 million.
The dance card for Illinois State men’s basketball is empty, but the schedule is not as the Redbirds have been given a Number 1 seed in the NIT. The Birds will host UC-Irvine on Wednesday night at 8:30 on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. The Anteaters are Big West Conference regular season champions but lost the league’s title game in overtime.
The Missouri Valley Conference representative, Wichita State, garnered a Number 10 seed in the NCAA tournament and visits Indianapolis to face Dayton on Friday.
Northwestern earned its first NCAA bid. Now every power conference school has danced. The Wildcats are one of seven Big Ten teams to make the tournament. The ACC placed nine in the dance. Top seeds go to defending champion Villanova, Kansas, North Carolina and Gonzaga.
The women’s NCAA bracket will be revealed tonight. Drake captured the Missouri Valley Conference automatic bid with a 74-69 overtime victory over Northern Iowa in the tournament final yesterday afternoon in Moline.
Illinois State dismissed head women’s basketball coach Barb Smith after four seasons and a record of 28-93.
Bloomington Thunder hockey extended its point streak to five games with a 4-1 win over Team USA at the Coliseum.
The Blackhawks have crept to just a point behind the Minnesota Wild for the top spot in the NHL’s Central Division and Western Conference with a 4-2 win over the Wild.
The Blues are in Los Angeles tonight.
The Bulls have lost five straight for the first time this season with a 100-80 defeat at Boston.
Bloomington Edge indoor football plays its second game of the season tonight at the Kansas City Phantoms. The Edge won their home opener over West Michigan last week.
Martin Truex Jr. won the Monster Energy Cup NASCAR race in Las Vegas.
Adam Hadwin won the Valspar Championship in Florida to earn a berth in the Masters.
