Welcome to “This Week in Illini Athletics,” a weekly review of the past week of Illini sports and a preview of the week to come.
MEN’S BASKETBALL (18-6 Overall, 11-3 Big Ten)
Last Week: They lost hold of the lead for a few days, but the 13th-ranked Illini ended the week in the same place they started: in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten. Playing at No. 3 Purdue on Wednesday, Illinois managed to hang around into the second half, even leading at halftime. However, Purdue’s offense went thermonuclear in the second half as it is known to do, scoring 37 points in the first 12 minutes of the second period before the Illini knew what hit them.