As the weekend comes to a close in Illinois, the team is gearing up for a crucial 7 p.m. showdown against Southern in the second of three games in what’s basically a non-MTE, MTE. The goal for tonight against the Jaguars is to get off to a better start than Friday. While Illinois did manage to beat Valparaiso, trailing by 10 at two points in the first half probably wasn’t part of the plan. This has been somewhat of a trend against mid-major opponents this season. Follow along with beat writer Scott Richey all night long to see how things unfold:

Scott Richey is a journalist covering college basketball at The News-Gazette. He can be reached via email at srichey@news-gazette.com and followed on Twitter (@srrichey).