The Illinois men’s basketball season has ended in the quarterfinals of the NIT with a 68-58 loss at Central Florida. The Knights jumped out to a quick double-digit lead which the Illini could not overcome. Malcolm Hill collected half of the Illini points, 29. The NIT final four includes UCF, Georgia Tech, TCU and Cal State Bakersfield in the semifinals next week in New York.
Illinois has hired Nancy Fahey as women’s basketball coach. Fahey is a Hall of Famer who won a record five NCAA Division III national titles in 31 years at Washington University in St. Louis.
The NCAA men’s basketball tournament continues tonight with the Sweet 16. Two Big Ten entries are in Kansas City as Michigan faces Oregon and Purdue takes on Kansas, while at San Jose, the match-ups are West Virginia-Gonzaga and Arizona-Xavier.
Pontiac softball won at Fieldcrest 13-1 behind a 13-strikeout performance with 5 RBIs from Amanda Fox.
The Bulls beat the Pistons 117-95.
The United States cruised to an 8-0 win over Puerto Rico to win the World Baseball Classic. Marcus Stroman carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, supported by a two-run homer from Ian Kinsler.
The Cardinals have named Carlos Martinez as their opening day starting pitcher when they host the Cubs on April 2.
Former Cubs president and Phillies manager Dallas Green has died at the age of 82. He won a World Series in Philadelphia in 1980 before moving to the Cubs front office.
The National Association of Basketball Coaches has named Illinois State guard Paris Lee to the District 16 First Team and ISU coach Dan Muller as district coach of the year. Redbirds Deontae Hawkins and MiKyle McIntosh are on the second team.
