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Bounce-back effort boosts No. 10 Illinois ahead of visit to USC

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NCAA Basketball: Indiana at IllinoisFeb 15, 2026; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward David Mirkovic (0) looks to pass as Indiana Hoosiers forward Reed Bailey (1) defends during the second half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Tenth-ranked Illinois will take a swing through Los Angeles for a pair of crucial Big Ten Conference games this week, the first on Wednesday night against Southern California.

The Fighting Illini (21-5, 12-3 Big Ten) begin the week in a three-team tie for second place in the league’s loss column, knotted with No. 7 Purdue (21-4, 11-3) and No. 9 Nebraska (22-3, 11-3), just behind No. 1 Michigan (24-1, 14-1).

USC (18-7, 7-7) sits in the middle of the conference pack.

Illinois slipped from the top of the conference with back-to-back overtime losses at Michigan State on Feb. 7 and to Wisconsin on Feb. 10, but the Illini bounced back on Sunday with a 71-51 home rout of Indiana.

David Mirkovic scored 25 points against the Hoosiers, his ninth consecutive double-figure point-scoring performance since the freshman was inserted into the starting lineup. The 25 points represented his personal best in Big Ten play.

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The tone-setting effort came after Mirkovic took responsibility for the loss to the Badgers.

Illini coach Brad Underwood said, “I get an incredible text from Mirk after the Wisconsin game — taking the blame for it because he wasn’t mentally what he thought was at his best. (Mirkovic) practiced at a different level, and that showed off (against Indiana). He was dominant on both ends, and it’s as focused defensively as I’ve seen him.”

The 51 points to which the Illini held Indiana were the third-fewest Illinois allowed this season, just two weeks removed from limiting Northwestern to 44 points.

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Along with strong defense — Illinois ranks No. 49 nationally at 68.2 points allowed a contest — the Illini have thrived with balanced offense. Mirkovic heads into Los Angeles as one of five Illinois scorers averaging in double figures per game.

His rate of 13 points per game joins Keaton Wagler at 18.5, Kylan Boswell at 14, Andrej Stojakovic at 13.7 and Tomislav Ivisic at 10.5. Stojakovic missed the past two games because of a high ankle sprain, and his availability for the Wednesday contest was uncertain.

After opposing the Trojans, Illinois plays at UCLA on Saturday before returning home to oppose Michigan on Feb. 27.

Among USC’s season-long regulars, Chad Baker-Mazara leads the way with 18.3 points per game, while Ezra Ausar adds 15.7. Rodney Rice (20.3 ppg) sustained a season-ending shoulder injury in December. Alijah Arenas, who returned from a knee injury last month, has appeared in six games and has averaged 26 over the past three.

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Jacob Cofie (9.9 points, 7.2 rebounds per game) reached double-figure scoring in three of the Trojans’ past four outings.

Cofie was one of five Trojans to notch at least 12 at Ohio State on Feb. 11, led by Arenas’ 25. Arenas is posting 15.4 points per game since joining the lineup the last month, bouncing back from a knee injury sustained in a car accident.

The first-year blue-chip prospect started slowly, scoring 30 combined points in his first four appearances but since ran off games of 29 and 24 before the 25 in an 89-82 loss to the Buckeyes.

The setback snapped USC’s three-game winning streak and dropped the Trojans to .500 in the Big Ten. USC aims to use its week-long break since the loss to regroup, playing its next four in Los Angeles and three of the quartet at home.

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“It’s been a long year so far. I think this is a much-needed break for the guys,” USC assistant coach Earl Boykins said per the school’s website. “The three long trips we’ve taken this year are a lot. It’s going to be good for them to get the break and for us to get in the gym and get back to the basics.”

–Field Level Media

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Dave Allen names ‘surprising’ heavyweight who ‘definitely’ hit him hardest: “Pure power”

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Fan-favourite heavyweight Dave Allen has sparred some of boxing’s best, but ‘The White Rhino’ admits that the man who hit him the hardest came as a ‘surprise’ to him.

This era of the heavyweight division has been governed for the most part by Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk and Deontay Wilder, with Wilder hoping that he can return into heavyweight title contention with a victory over Derek Chisora on Saturday.

Of those names, Allen has sparred all apart from ‘The Bronze Bomber’, as well as a host of other top contenders in the division.

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However, on his YouTube channel, when it came to naming the man who hit him the hardest, Allen claimed that Chisora was the biggest puncher that he has faced, much to his surprise.

“I sparred Derek Chisora before the Lucas Browne fight, so probably seven years ago to the week actually. He weren’t in the best shape, I don’t think, and I was fit and I sparred really well.

“But, he hit really hard. I thought he was the powerful puncher that I have ever been in with, just for pure power. Luckily, I could see him coming, because they were wide shots and they were coming from pretty far back and I could brace for them and take a bit off of them.

“In terms of power, he was definitely the biggest puncher that I ever sparred with, really, really heavy-handed. It surprised me because I didn’t think he was a big puncher. I had been watching him and, technically, I thought he didn’t look like he would be a big puncher.”

Chisora will hope to find some of that devastating power when he faces Wilder at the O2 Arena tonight. The Brit says he will retire win, lose or draw, but his 50-fight campaign would be remembered much more favourably if he called time after stopping one of his generation’s biggest names.

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Allen returns to action on home soil in Doncaster against Filip Hrgovic on Saturday, May 16.

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Taylor Fritz & girlfriend Morgan Riddle have broken up, tennis insider makes wild relationship claim

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Taylor Fritz and Morgan Riddle have been a tennis power couple for over half a decade. The two had begun dating in June 2020, but if latest reports are to be believed, they have parted ways after a nearly six-year long relationship.

Tennis insider Craig Shapiro, who hosts an eponymous podcast, on Sunday took to social media to share the news. As per the post on X, he said “reliable sources” had confirmed the break-up to him.

“Reliable sources telling me Fritz and Moorgs are no mas,” The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast wrote on X.

Fans reacting to the post took note of Riddle’s absence from some of the more recent matches featuring Fritz. The social media influencer was otherwise a regular feature in the player’s box, cheering her boyfriend on at major events throughout the tennis season.

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Even though, Riddle and Fritz began dating back in 2020, they did not go public with their relationship until a couple of years later. They have since been spotted at multiple events together even outside of tennis, featured on magazine covers and are frequently seen on each others’ social media handles.


Morgan Riddle credited boyfriend Taylor Fritz for getting her into fashion

Morgan Riddle supports Taylor Fritz from the stands at the 2026 Australian Open. (Source: Getty)Morgan Riddle supports Taylor Fritz from the stands at the 2026 Australian Open. (Source: Getty)
Morgan Riddle supports Taylor Fritz from the stands at the 2026 Australian Open. (Source: Getty)

Morgan Riddle had in an interview with Vogue magazine opened up about her relationship with Taylor Fritz. The social media influencer revealed that she was in fact a very person th first couple of years that she was with the Ameican tennis star.

Before taking on the role of a social media influencer, she worked for non-profit organizations. She even credited Fritz with pushing her into fashion, which has become a big part of her brand today.

“I was very private for the first two years of our relationship,” Morgan Riddle told Vogue in 2025. Work played a large role in her decision. “I was working in nonprofits for children in hospitals.”

“When I met him, I literally did not know one designer. He was like, ‘We’ve got to get you drip,’” she continued.

Riddle also spoke about some of the challenges that come with having a social media presence, especially for those clubbed under the tennis “groupie” label. She said she likes to keep a distance from negativity, has matured over the years and can handle it a lot better now.

“I have friends who have been on YouTube since they were 15 years old. It was kind of nice to have an introduction to it once I was mature and felt like I had a better head on my shoulders,” Morgan Riddle said.

“There’s still a lot of negativity around it, and I know that because I see misogynist comments—always from idiot men,” Morgan Riddle said. “I do think there’s more visibility on what girls are doing outside of just attending their partners’ matches.”

Fritz last played at the Sunshine Double on home soil. He has chosen to delay his start to the clay season, skipping the Monte-Carlo Masters. He will next feature at the clay event in Munich a fortnight later.

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