Tag: Illinois

Morgan Park (Chicago) four-star guard Adam Miller commits to Illinois

Illinois landed a major addition to its basketball Class of 2020 with the Thursday commitment of Adam Miller, one of Chicagoland’s standout stars.

Adam Miller won’t be straying too far from home for college basketball after all.

A four-star guard for Morgan Park, Miller committed to Illinois Thursday. The Chi-town superstar picked Illinois ahead of fellow finalists Arizona, Arizona State, Illinois, Kansas, Louisville and Wake Forest. In the end, the desire to play and have an impact closer to home stood out.

RELATED: Chicago 4-star Adam Miller scores 51 in instrasquad scrimmage 

“I’ve played ball all around this state my whole life, I wanted to go somewhere where I could be bigger than life and I feel like that’s at Illinois as a basketball player,” Miller told 247Sports.

“I could have played at any school in the country, because I’m skilled and talented but more importantly I’m tough so it was more than just basketball.”

Of Miller’s six finalist schools, he took official visits to only Illinois and Arizona. He eventually decided Illinois was the right fit for him, and may have left Illini fans excited in the process; Miller averaged 20.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while starring on the Nike EYBL circuit this spring.

Now he gets to return to focusing on his final star turn for Morgan Park. So far, that’s off to a rousing start.

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Illinois-Iowa odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Saturday’s Illinois at Iowas college football matchup, with college football betting odds, picks and best bets

The Illinois Fighting Illini (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten West) and Iowa Hawkeyes (7-3, 4-3 West) lock horns at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City at noon ET on Saturday.

We analyze the Illinois-Iowa odds and betting lines, while providing college football betting tips and advice on this matchup.

Illinois at Iowa: Three things you need to know

1. Illinois has won four in a row, moving to 6-4 to secure bowl eligibility for the first time since 2014 when they appeared in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.

2. The Illini have won six games despite the fact they rank 112th in the FBS in total yards (333.7) and 108th in passing yards (183.4).

3. Iowa QB Nate Stanley has passed for 2,331 yards, 14 passing touchdowns and five interceptions with just one rushing score.

Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM!

Illinois at Iowa: Odds, betting lines and picks

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 1:15 p.m. ET.

Prediction

Iowa 21, Illinois 18

Moneyline (ML)

Iowa (-834) is favored by more than two touchdowns, and the Hawkeyes should be able to get it done at home. However, the Illini have surprised and defied the odds, winning in this spot before. I expect the Hawkeyes to win, but it will be a one-possession game.

New to sports betting? A $10 wager on Iowa to win would return a profit of $1.20.

Against the Spread (ATS)

ILLINOIS (+14.5, -106) continues to get no respect from Vegas. Despite their winning ways lately, the Illini have been a double-digit underdog in six of their past seven outings, winning three games outright while going 5-1 ATS. Illinois is 5-0 ATS in the past five games overall, too, so why bet against the Illini now?

Over/Under (O/U)

The UNDER (46.5, -110) is the dominant trend for both sides lately. The under is 4-1 in the past five on the road for Illinois, while going 4-0-1 in Iowa’s past five at Kinnick. The under is also 6-1 in Iowa’s past seven league games and 5-1 in the past six against teams with a winning overall mark.

Get some action on this game or others, place a bet with BetMGM today. And for more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @JoeWilliamsVI and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Chicago 4-star G recruit Adam Miller got dunked on, got mad, then scored 51 points

You’ve heard “Don’t poke the bear,”? Well, consider Adam Miller the bear. The 4-star Morgan Park guard exploded for 51 points in an instrasquad scrimmage that served as a final tune-up for the 2019-20 season.

There’s a phrase, “don’t poke the bear,” which advises everyone to avoid openly antagonizing the biggest threat in the room. Let it be known that Adam Miller is always the biggest threat in the room.

Miller, a four-star guard for Chicago power Morgan Park, exploded for 51 points in his team’s intrasquad green-white scrimmage. The true fuse that lit his offensive eruption wasn’t a particularly impressive bucket or a fast break move of his own. It was the way he was dunked on by one of his teammates.

How do we know that’s what set him off? Because he told everyone on camera:

This is what that initial embarrassment led to:

All of which brings us a few key takeaways:

1) Adam Miller is a serious problem for every team in Chicagoland not named Morgan Park,

2) Morgan Park should seriously consider having someone dunk on Miller in pregame warmups every game,

3) Whichever college program lands Miller later this week has a brighter future ahead, with him right near the front.

Big Ten Quick Thoughts, Takes On Every Game: Week 12

Quick thoughts and takes on every Week 12 Big Ten game.

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Quick thoughts and takes on every Week 12 Big Ten game.

@PeteFiutak

Wisconsin 37, Nebraska 21

Adrian Martinez was fantastic. He was fast, decisive, and he looked like the star for the Husker offense everyone is hoping he’ll be. He threw for 220 yards and a score, ran for 89 yards and a touchdown, Dedrick Mills ran for 188 yards and a score, and Nebraska gained almost 500 yards …

And Nebraska lost by 16. 

Wisconsin got shoved around too much, struggled against the Nebraska running game, and gave up too many big plays, but Jonathan Taylor ran for 204 yards and two scores, QB Jack Coan was fine, Aron Cruickshank retuned a kick for a score, and the D came through when absolutely needed.

The Badgers need to win out and get a loss from Minnesota before they play on November 30th. Nebraska has to beat both Maryland on the road and against Iowa to go bowling.

Northwestern 45, UMass 6

Leave it to Northwestern to be the only team that couldn’t hang a gajillion points on the worst defense in college football. One of the scores came on a blocked field goal.

This was the game to have a whole lot of fun with the passing game. Aidan Smith completed 7-of-13 passes for 76 yards with two interceptions. Wheeeeee!

Evan Hull?! The freshman had four carries all year for 15 yards, and he ripped through the Minutemen for 220 yards and four scores on 24 carries. The Wildcats ran for 335 yards and five scores.

It’s going to take something amazing for the Wildcats to win another game with Minnesota and at Illinois to close. 2-10 would be the worst season since going 2-9 in 1993.

NEXT: Michigan 44, Michigan State 10; Penn State 34, Indiana 27

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Michigan State HC Mark Dantonio says Brian Lewerke did not have concussion against Illinois

In his press conference on Tuesday, Mark Dantonio said that his staff agreed that Brian Lewerke did not get concussed on Saturday.

In his press conference Tuesday, Michigan State Head Coach Mark Dantonio said that Brian Lewerke, while not assessed fully during Saturday’s loss to Illinois, did not suffer a concussion after a helmet to helmet hit he endured. Some fans wondered if he did suffer an injury as he threw a bad pick-six on the following play.

“No, we didn’t go through any protocol. We looked at him very quickly,” Dantonio said Tuesday. “Just I asked him and he said he’s good, and he motioned that to our trainers as well, so he just went on with it.”

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“The safety of student-athletes at Michigan State University is our No. 1 priority. Decisions on whether a player returns to competition after potentially suffering an injury are made by our medical staff, which does not report to our coaching staff or through the Athletics Department,” Anthony Avellino, assistant provost for student wellness, health and safety said in a statement released today.

“Upon returning to the sideline late in the fourth quarter with under five minutes remaining in the game, Brian Lewerke was given a symptom assessment by our medical staff. After not showing signs of a concussion, he was cleared to play. As a precautionary measure, Brian was given further testing the following day, and was once again determined not to have a concussion.”

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