Former Illinois men's basketball standout Efrem Winters died Monday morning after a long battle with an undisclosed illness, according to the university. He was 61. The Champaign News-Gazette was first to report the news.

Police received a report Jan. 13 about an incident involving a 4-year-old child who was put in the alley of a day care facility for about 20 seconds in temperatures of 19 degrees Fahrenheit, according to a Jan. 23 news release from the Homewood Police Department.

An Illinois woman is in custody after police say she attempted to pass a forged prescription in Western Kentucky

Shamone Duncan, 50, was identified as one of the people shot and killed at a restaurant on Jan. 18, the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force said in a Jan. 19 news release. Police said Duncan and the other victims were not targeted.

Illinois is ranked 18th in the new AP Top 25 poll, released Monday. The Illini (14-6, 6-4 Big Ten) also are 20th in the coaches' poll.

Auburn continues to reside in the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll after surviving a scare Saturday against Tennessee. Kentucky wasn't

FOX Sports college basketball bracket forecaster Mike DeCourcy offers up his latest NCAA Tournament projections, with Michigan State rising.

Kentucky visits Tennessee in Knoxville! Let's continue our College Basketball odds series with a Kentucky-Tennessee prediction and pick.

Illinois freshman forward Morez Johnson Jr. dunks over Northwestern center Keenan Fitzmorris on Sunday. Johnson produced 15 points and nine rebounds in the Illini’s 83-74 win in Champaign. Scott Richey covers college basketball for The News-Gazette. His email is [email protected], and you can follow him on Twitter ( @srrichey ).

Sign up for our daily basketball newsletter here Welcome to “Good Morning, Illini Nation,” your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey. He’ll offer up insights every morning on Brad Underwood’s team and college basketball at large: Two-thirds of the way through the season there are few givens when it comes to the Associated Press Top 25.

Tennessee ranks as the most effective and efficient defense in the country, per KenPom. There isn’t an offense this season the Volunteers haven’t been able to handle. For a few examples, Rick Barnes‘ team held Florida to 12 points under its season average,

St. John's at Georgetown, 6:30 p.m. Cent. Michigan at Buffalo, 7 p.m. Providence at Seton Hall, 7 p.m. Dayton at St. Bonaventure, 8 p.m. North Carolina at Pittsburgh, 9 p.m.