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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
The play of senior wide receiver Pat Bryant, left, has made Illini coach Bret Bielema smile a lot this season.
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. The Illinois football team has a chance to win nine games in the regular season for the first time since 2007. The Illini (8-3, 5-3 Big Ten) conclude their regular season against rival Northwestern (4-7, 2-6) at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
➜ 2. Bret Bielema won six Big Ten games four separate times in his seven seasons coaching at Wisconsin from 2006 through 2012. But he could become the first Illini coach to do so since Ron Zook in 2007. Illinois went 6-2 in Big Ten games in a season that ended with a Rose Bowl trip.
➜ 3. No matter the outcome on Saturday, Illinois football is guaranteed to finish with a winning record in Big Ten play for only the 14th time in the last 50 seasons.
Receiver Pat Bryant saved the day for his team at Rutgers, leading Illinois to a 38-31 victory. His final regular-season game is Saturday against Northwestern at Wrigley Field.
Numbers game: 18
career touchdown catches Illinois wide receiver Pat Bryant has going into Saturday’s game with Northwestern. That is good for fourth all-time in program history, with only A.J. Jenkins (19), Brandon Lloyd (21) and David Williams (24) having more in their respective Illinois careers. Bryant has nine TD catches this season, and if he gets two on Saturday, he’ll pass Lloyd and Williams for most in a single season by an Illini.
The Illinois volleyball team is trying to make it back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2021.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Illinois vs. Northwestern football. Illinois leads the all-time series 57-55-5 before both in-state Big Ten teams meet for the 118th time on Saturday to determine who wins the Land of Lincoln trophy.
➜ 2. NCAA volleyball selection show. Have the Illini, who ended the regular season on Friday night at Indiana, done enough to warrant a spot in the 64-team NCAA tournament field for the first time since 2021? Find out at 5 p.m. Sunday when the pairings are revealed on ESPN.
➜ 3. Illinois at Canisius women’s basketball. Illinois coach Shauna Green returns to her alma mater in Buffalo, N.Y., when the No. 19 Illini (6-1) and the Golden Griffins (1-5) tip off at 5 p.m. Monday.
Gary Wilsey and his wife, former UI women’s basketball player Mandy Cunningham.
Coach’s corner
Three questions with first-year St. Thomas More boys’ basketball coach Gary Wilsey:
➜ 1. My favorite sports team is … the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers led by Magic Johnson.
➜ 2. Three coaches I’d like to have dinner with are … Jay Wright, Phil Jackson and Joe Maddon.
➜ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … customer service agents unable to help you that ask, ‘Can I help you with anything else?’
