Brad Underwood will be in his element the next couple weeks. Winter break means extra time on the practice court for Illinois to go all in on

getting better. Which Kasparas Jakucionis, Kylan Boswell and Co. will do after celebrating both the holiday season and a Braggin' Rights victory.

Beat writer Scott Richey discusses that and more in this week's Inside Illini Basketball.

There's no doubting Illinois' talent this season. It's arguably the tops in the Big Ten from a pure basketball standpoint. Getting the most from

that talent — particularly late in games — is still a work in progress. Good thing it's only mid-December, and there's two-thirds of the season

yet to play. Beat writer Scott Richey discusses that and more in this week's Inside Illini Basketball.

Illinois has home court advantage this week in a pair of games that would be a serious résumé boost should Kasparas Jakucionis and Co. come away with a couple wins. That's especially true with No. 1 Tennessee in Champaign on Saturday. There's no bigger win to be had. Beat writer Scott

Richey discusses that and more in this week's Inside Illini Basketball.

Illinois will enter Big Ten play this week at Northwestern (and then early next week against Wisconsin) on solid ground as the No. 10 team in the country in the initial NET rankings of the season. A big win against Arkansas — both in margin and level of competition — didn't hurt. A couple conference wins would go a long way in boosting that ranking, too. Beat writer Scott Richey discusses that and more in this week's Inside Illini

Basketball.

It's still early in the 2024-25 season, but this Illinois team is sliding comfortably into roles on the court. That includes Kylan Boswell as a

defensive stopper on the perimeter now finding his footing on the offensive end and Morez Johnson Jr. as a rebounding and defense focused big man. Those two and the rest of their teammates will have some high-level games to fine tune those roles in the next several weeks — both nonconference and in the Big Ten. Beat writer Scott Richey discusses it all in this week's Inside Illini Basketball.

Illinois made its 2024-25 debut in the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday at No. 25. Just in time for its biggest game of the season to date. This

week's trip to Birmingham, Ala., to face now No. 8 Alabama will shine a bright light on exactly where this Illinois team stands in mid-November. A

litmus test, if you will, for where the program needs to be headed with a couple early Big Ten games looming. Beat writer Scott Richey discusses that and more in this week's episode of Inside Illini Basketball.

There was only one real surprise for Illinois in the first week of the 2024-25 college basketball season, and it had nothing to do with the

results on the court. While Ty Rodgers did make the decision to redshirt, Illinois still went 2-0, still blew the doors off teams they should dominate. Just in a different style than a year ago, as Will Riley, Ben Humrichous and Co. went "bombs away" from three-point range. Beat writer

Scott Richey discusses that and more in this week's Inside Illini Basketball.

The 2024-25 college basketball season is here! That's a legitimate reason to get excited. Especially if you're an Illinois fan. There's no lacking for talent on this year's roster. How it all comes together — and if the results match up to the expectations and hype — will at least start to

become clear this week. Beat writer Scott Richey discusses that and more in this week's episode of Inside Illini Basketball.

Illinois did not play well in its charity exhibition game against No. 24 Mississippi. Too many turnovers. Not enough defense. Plenty to work on

before the 2024-25 college basketball seasons starts ... next week. Even so, it's too early to push the panic button. An almost entirely new team

with several freshmen playing key roles was bound to have some struggles (and they did against the Rebels). Beat writer Scott Richey discusses that and more in this week's Inside Illini Basketball.

The 2024-25 Illinois basketball season is just two weeks away, but there's still plenty we don't know about this team. Like who starts or who's in the rotation or who will be the go-to player in tense moments. That's what happens when you turn over essentially the entire roster. Beat writer

Scott Richey discusses all that — plus any potential court storming opportunities in the wake of Illinois football field stormings — in this week's Inside Illini Basketball.