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LaVine scores 25 points, Bulls beat Timberwolves 117-110
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bulls envisioned Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen providing a powerful one-two punch and leading them to the playoffs coming off one of the worst seasons in franchise history.
S. Illinois holds off N. Iowa for a 68-66 win
CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) — Lance Jones scored 20 points and Barret Benson scored 13 with six rebounds and Southern Illinois beat Northern Iowa 68-66 on Wednesday.
Ballock leads Creighton past DePaul 83-68
CHICAGO (AP) — Mitch Ballock hit five 3-pointers to reach 200 for his career and scored 19 points to lead a balanced attack in Creighton’s 83-68 win over DePaul on Wednesday night.
Kennell, Tahvanainen lead Bradley past Illinois State 75-63
PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — Backcourt mates Nate Kennell and Ville Tahvanainen scored 18 points apiece as Bradley beat Illinois State 75-63 on Wednesday night.
Hall carries Loyola of Chicago past Indiana St. 75-55
CHICAGO (AP) — Tate Hall matched his career-high with 23 points as Loyola of Chicago romped past Indiana State 75-55 on Wednesday night.
No. 21 Illinois runs away in 2nd half to sweep Purdue
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — After watching No. 21 Illinois play an uncharacteristic first half Tuesday night, coach Brad Underwood gave his team some simple instructions.
Quenneville coaches Panthers to 4-3 win over Blackhawks
CHICAGO (AP) — Joel Quenneville barking out instructions from behind the bench. A young team with a couple budding stars showing signs of improvement.
Smith scores 25, No. 17 Maryland beats Northwestern 77-66
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Down 14 at halftime, Maryland coach Mark Turgeon decided his team needed a pep talk. His message? The second half would change the season.
German scores 17 to lead N. Illinois over Kent St. 76-69
KENT, Ohio (AP) — Eugene German scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Northern Illinois held off Kent State 76-69 on Tuesday night, handing the Golden Flashes their first home loss of the season.
Cubs acquire reliever Lakins from Red Sox
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs acquired reliever Travis Lakins from the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named or cash on Tuesday.
Antetokounmpo has triple-double as Bucks down Bulls 111-98
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks committed 23 turnovers — and won anyway.
Kane gets 1,000th point, Blackhawks beat Jets 5-2
CHICAGO (AP) — Patrick Kane’s 1,000th career point created one big party for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Hall leads Loyola Chicago to 62-50 win over Illinois State
NORMAL, Ill. (AP) — Tate Hall scored 17 points and added five rebounds, three assists and two steals to lead Loyola Chicago to a 62-50 victory over Illinois State on Sunday.
Benson, McGill propel Southern Illinois past Drake 66-49
CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) — Barret Benson and Eric McGill scored 18 points apiece and Southern Illinois cruised to a 66-49 victory over Drake on Sunday.
No. 14 DePaul women Butler own 3rd in a 15-point win
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Sonya Morris scored 22 points and Deja Church had a double-double and No. 14-ranked DePaul beat Butler 80-65 on Sunday.
Allen has career high 19, Bakersfield tops Chicago St 72-54
CHICAGO (AP) — Cam Allen scored a career-high 19 points off the bench to lead Cal State Bakersfield to a 72-54 win over Chicago State on Sunday.
Green’s 25 points leads Northern Iowa over Bradley 86-71
PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — AJ Green had 25 points as Northern Iowa topped Bradley 86-71 on Saturday.
LaVine scores 42, Chicago rallies late to beat Cavs 118-116
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bulls overcame a poor performance in the first three quarters with a strong finish.
Toews shines as Blackhawks beat Maple Leafs 6-2
TORONTO (AP) — While Patrick Kane is on the doorstep of 1,000 career points, Jonathan Toews is closing in on a milestone of his own.
Henry leads Jacksonville St. past SIU-Edwardsville
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) — Kayne Henry scored a career-high 22 points with a career-tying 14 rebounds and Jacksonville State beat Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 64-56 on Saturday.
Charles has 23, leads E. Illinois past Tennessee Tech 84-59
CHARLESTON, Ill. (AP) — Kashawn Charles hit 5 3-pointers and scored a career-high 23 points to lead Eastern Illinois to an 84-59 win over Tennessee Tech on Saturday.
Plowden carries Bowling Green over N. Illinois 66-64
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) — Daeqwon Plowden tallied 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead Bowling Green to a 66-64 win over Northern Illinois on Saturday.
Reed scores 23 points, DePaul upsets No. 5 Butler 79-66
CHICAGO (AP) — In just two weeks of play in the Big East, DePaul was on the verge of ruining everything it established during an impressive nonconference season.
Epstein understands fan frustration in Cubs’ slow offseason
CHICAGO (AP) — Theo Epstein understands the fans’ frustration. He feels it, too, at times.
Storm postpones Chicago State-CSU Bakersfield men’s game
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago State men’s basketball game against Cal State-Bakersfield scheduled for Saturday at 12:05 pm has been moved to Sunday (Jan. 19) at 12:05 p.m. (CST) because of inclement weather in the Chicago area.
No. 24 Illinois hangs on to beat Northwestern 75-71
CHAMPAIGN, Ill, (AP) — As Illinois coach Brad Underwood watched Northwestern play his Illini down to the wire, he couldn’t help but feel he was watching his own team from a year ago.
Wallace helps Eastern Illinois edge Jacksonville St 70-69
CHARLESTON, Ill. (AP) – Josiah Wallace scored 20 points and Eastern Illinois held off Jacksonville State 70-69.
Robbins leads Drake over Illinois St. 84-74
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Liam Robbins had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead five Drake players scoring in double figures and the Bulldogs extended their home winning streak to 10 games, getting past Illinois State
Burns scores 22, Oral Roberts defeats Western Illinois 87-70
MACOMB, Ill. (AP) — Deondre Burns scored 22 points on his birthday and Oral Roberts used a late run to turn back Western Illinois 87-70 on Thursday night.
Allen lifts Tennessee Tech over SIU-Edwardsville 72-69
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) — Darius Allen scored 15 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots and Tennessee Tech came from behind to beat SIU-Edwardsville 72-69 on Thursday night, ending an eight-game skid with its first Ohio
Bears hire Bill Lazor as offensive coordinator
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy made several changes to his staff Thursday, hiring Bill Lazor as offensive coordinator and John DeFilippo as quarterbacks coach.
Lever carries Grand Canyon past Chicago St. 76-64
CHICAGO (AP) — Allessandro Lever scored 25 points and grabbed six rebounds and Grand Canyon beat Chicago State 78-64 on Thursday night for its first Western Athletic Conference win of the season.
Burton leads Northwestern women past No. 15 Hoosiers in OT
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Veronica Burton scored 15 points, including the three-point play that forced overtime and the two free throws that put Northwestern ahead with 33 seconds left in the extra session, and the Wildcats rallied
Loyola of Chicago rolls past Southern Illinois 64-48
CHICAGO (AP) — Marquise Kennedy had 17 points off the bench to lead Loyola of Chicago to a 64-48 win over Southern Illinois on Thursday night.
Smith scores twice, Blackhawks beat Canadiens 4-1
MONTREAL (AP) — Corey Crawford doesn’t know why he plays well against his hometown team.
Voracek scores in OT, Flyers beat Blues 4-3
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Philadelphia Flyers have shown the ability to play up to their competition.
LaVine powers Bulls past Wizards 115-106
CHICAGO (AP) — Zach LaVine wants to play in the All-Star Game next month in Chicago.
Bradley overcomes Missouri St. run with its own for the win
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Nate Kennell tied a career-high 25 points on 7-of-10 shooting from 3-point range and Bradley beat Missouri State 91-78 on Wednesday.
No. 14 Villanova survives scare, beats DePaul 79-75 in OT
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Headed into overtime after blowing a big lead in regulation, Collin Gillespie had a one-word challenge for Villanova: Attitude.
Toews scores in overtime, Blackhawks beat Senators 3-2
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks overcame a sluggish start to keep the Ottawa Senators winless in their last eight games.
Cheese, Jackson lead Akron’s 72-49 rout of N. Illinois
DEKALB, Ill. (AP) — Tyler Cheese scored 23 points as Akron romped past Northern Illinois 72-49 on Tuesday night to remain undefeated in the Mid-American Conference.
Streaky Garza with 27, leads Iowa past Northwestern 75-62
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Luka Garza scored 27 points — all but one of them in two spurts —and Iowa beat Northwestern 75-62 on Tuesday night.
Bears say they will hold training camp at home
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears will hold their entire training camp at their headquarters rather than spend the first few weeks in Bourbonnais, Illinois.
Iowa star DE A.J. Epenesa announces he’s entering NFL draft
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa defensive end A.J. Epenesa will enter the NFL draft after two of the most dominant performances of his career.
White Sox, reliever Cishek finalize $6 million contract
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox finalized a $6 million, one-year contract with free-agent reliever Steve Cishek on Tuesday.
White Sox announce new managers at Triple-A, Double-A
CHICAGO (AP) — The White Sox will have new managers at Triple-A Charlotte and Double-A Birmingham next season as well as new hitting and pitching coordinators.
Blues beat Ducks 4-1, extend home winning streak to 9 games
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Backing up Jordan Binnington, Blues goalie Jake Allen knows he needs to make his starts count.
Tatum and Brown lead Celtics to 113-101 win over Bulls
BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum didn’t hesitate when asked about the team’s chemistry nearly halfway into the season.
Diggins, Ottey help UIC upset Wright State 76-72
CHICAGO (AP) — Michael Diggins scored 20 points and Marcus Ottey made two free throws with 11 seconds left to help Illinois-Chicago hold off Wright State 76-72 on Sunday.
No. 15 DePaul women hold off upset-minded St. John’s 74-69
CHICAGO (AP) — Sonya Morris and Deja Church notched double-doubles and No. 15 DePaul rallied in the fourth quarter to beat St. John’s 74-69 on Sunday.