CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Illinois linebacker Jake Hansen will miss the rest of the season after having knee surgery. Hansen was injured in the second quarter against Wisconsin on Oct. 9 and made his announcement on Twitter. He says it pains him to say he won’t play another game for the Illini. He thanked coaches, teammates, staff and family and that he enjoyed every moment in Champaign. Hansen was the NCAA’s active career leader in forced fumbles with 12 and ranks second on the Illinois career chart with 13 forced fumbles.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin linebacker Leo Chenal is coming off a career-best performance against Army and leads the Badgers with 42 total tackles despite missing Wisconsin’s first two games due to a positive COVID-19 test. LSU’s Damone Clark is the only player from a Power Five conference averaging more tackles per game. He displays the same personality on the field that often he often showcased while growing up with eight sisters and seven brothers. Chenal has seven half-siblings and eight full siblings ranging in age from 12 to 39.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — No. 17 Ohio State will try to quickly move past its first-round choke in last spring’s NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes were stunned by No. 15 Oral Roberts in the opening game in one of the tournament’s biggest upsets. This season’s version has some different faces but will be anchored by veteran forwards E.J. Liddell, Kyle Young, Justin Ahrens, and Justice Sueing. They’ll be complemented by some important plug-in transfers and freshmen. The Buckeyes open Nov. 9 against Akron.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Juwan Howard is shooting to win a national championship, an achievement that has eluded him as a coach and player at Michigan. The former member of the Fab Five is not afraid to say he and his players have aspirations to cut down the nets at the Final Four in April. The Wolverines are the top-ranked Big Ten team at No. 6 in the AP Top 25. That seems to give them a realistic shot at winning the school’s second NCAA title and its first in four decades. Michigan will be led by 7-foot-1 sophomore center Hunter Dickinson.
UNDATED (AP) — Purdue coach Matt Painter has seen how one shocking loss can motivate a team for a new season. He watched it happen to Virginia. And he witnessed it five years when his own team rebounded from a first-round NCAA Tournament exit to win the Big Ten regular-season title. Now the seventh-ranked Boilermakers will try to do it all over again. Purdue hosts Bellarmine on Nov. 9 to open the season.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — New Indiana coach Mike Woodson has tossed out the stale offensive rules from recent seasons. He wants the Hoosiers to feel confident, take shots and play basketball. It’s a philosophy players have embraced, one longtime Hoosiers fans might recognize. And it just put Indiana back on college basketball’s national map.
UNDATED (AP) — Illinois is back for another season and plan to build around junior center Kofi Cockburn. The Illini were one of the nation’s top teams a year ago and grabbed a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They lost star Ayu Dosunmu, but have a deep team. Sophomore guard Andre Curbelo will be the director on offense for coach Brad Underwood. The season opener is Nov. 9 at home against Jackson State. The first month of the schedule includes games against the likes of Marquette, Notre Dame and Cincinnati.
