The top seeds in the NCAA Tournament are generally heavy favorites in their first-round games.

Purdue has reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll.

Cooper Flagg has certainly lived up to the hype.

Illinois wasn’t showing any hard feelings toward its opponent when it declined to participate in a postgame handshake.

Michigan State’s Tom Izzo followed one of the most disappointing losses of his coaching career with a record-setting victory.

Illinois’ season could have ended up a lot different.

Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 30 points, Marcus Domask added 22 and No. 3 seed Illinois made fast work 11th-seeded Duquesne in an 89-63 victory to reach the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005.

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Justin Harmon scored 18 points and Terrence Shannon Jr. added 16 in his return to lead five Illinois players in double figures as the No. 14 Illini beat Rutgers 86-63.

Trey Kaufman-Renn scored a season-high 23 points, Lance Jones added 17 and top-ranked Purdue held off a late comeback bid to beat No. 9 Illinois 83-78.

Bill Self’s status for coaching Kansas in the NCAA Tournament is uncertain as he recovers from a heart procedure.

Taze Moore scored 21 points, Jamal Shead added 18 and Houston, a Final Four team last season, advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with a 68-53 win over Illinois.

Alfonso Plummer scored 15 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 12 seconds to go, and fourth-seeded Illinois escaped 13th-seeded Chattanooga 54-53 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Kofi Cockburn scored 27 points and Alfonso Plummer had 26, helping No. 15 Illinois beat Michigan 93-85.

Kofi Cockburn scored 27 points, Jacob Grandison had a season-high 24 and No. 12 Illinois held off No. 19 Michigan State 79-74.

The NCAA has suspended Illinois center Kofi Cockburn for the first three games of the season because he sold apparel and memorabilia before new regulations that allow athletes to participate in money-making ventures went into effect.

Big Ten basketball entered a whole new world when it returned to Indianapolis for the first of two media days.

As the Fighting Illini celebrated their first Big Ten Tournament title since 2005 with a 91-88 overtime victory over No. 9 Ohio State on Sunday, they quickly turned the focus to their No. Instead of withering in their fourth game in four days and being without forward Kyle Young for the second consecutive game, Ohio State (21-9) continually fought back. BIG PICTUREOhio State: They didn't win the title but the fifth-seeded Buckeyes overperformed expectations. ALL-TOURNEY TEAMAdDosunmu and Cockburn were joined on the all-tournament team by Washington and Liddell from Ohio State and Iowa’s Luka Garza, the league’s player of the year.

(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)INDIANAPOLIS – Illinois center Kofi Cockburn learned some hard lessons dueling with Luka Garza as a freshman. The victory sends the Illini to the Big Ten Tournament championship game. They made themselves at home, cheering loudly each time Cockburn made a play, while booing the foul calls against Illinois. A 9-0 run midway through the first half gave Illinois a 22-14 lead that it never surrendered. BIG PICTUREIowa: The Hawkeyes won't go away quietly in the NCAA Tournament, as Illinois found out Saturday.

Michigan can still wrap that up with a win in either of its last two regular-season games — or if Illinois loses its last game this weekend. The Wolverines are scheduled to play three fewer games than Illinois, and the size of this blowout — without Dosunmu — will resonate. Illinois could certainly pass Michigan as well after this game, but the Illini still have four more losses than the Wolverines. Plus, both Michigan and Illinois have more tests to come before the next poll. Michigan: The Wolverines finish the regular season with a home-and-home series against rival Michigan State, starting Thursday night in Ann Arbor.

And after an uncharacteristic first half, Drew understood why his players might have been a little unnerved. “It was a frustrating night," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. Baylor forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua started the decisive stretch by making two free throws with 12:51 left. After Illinois made a 3-pointer, Baylor scored five more points and then took control with another run, this time 9-0. ... MaCio Teague added 11 points and Tchamwa Tchatchoua had nine points and nine rebounds.

I just think that Lou is probably the most underrated coach in college basketball, former Illinois and pro player Stephen Bardo said. And for years after Henson left the sidelines, he and his wife, Mary, were widely loved, unofficial ambassadors for both Illinois and New Mexico State and the towns where theyre located, Champaign, Illinois, and Las Cruces, New Mexico. Seriously who doesnt love him? said former NBA player Reggie Theus, who succeeded Henson at New Mexico State and considered him a mentor. Henson, a native of Okay, Oklahoma, played college basketball at New Mexico State in the early 1950s. A son, 35-year-old Lou Henson Jr., died in a 1992 car accident.