Illinois begins the NIT tonight at State Farm Center against Valparaiso with a 6:15 tip. Illini Sports Network pre-game begins at 5 p.m. on 98.9 WJEZ.

Illinois State faces off in the NIT against UC-Irvine at 8:30 tomorrow night at Redbird Arena.

The NCAA men’s tournament opens tonight with two of the First Four games in Dayton. Mount St. Mary’s and New Orleans meet in a match-up of 16 seeds followed by 11 seeds Kansas State and Wake Forest.

The Missouri Valley Conference has two representatives in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament, league champion Drake and at-large selection Northern Iowa. Missouri State goes the WNIT.

The Bloomington Edge improved to 2-0 in Champions Indoor Football with a 43-37 come-from-behind win at Kansas City. J.J. Hayes caught three touchdown passes and Darrelynn Dunn rushed for three more. The Edge host the Omaha Beef this Saturday night.

The Bulls broke a season-high five-game losing streak with a 115-109 win over the Charlotte Hornets.

Bloomington Thunder’s Logan Halliday is the USHL Goalie of the Week.