The Illinois Fighting Illini continue to hone their game with a formula that emphasizes intense competition during practice. That focus has translated into a strong start to their season as they prepare to face winless Chicago State on Sunday afternoon in Champaign, Ill. Illinois coach Brad Underwood has made it a habit to pit his guards against each other in practice, fostering a competitive environment. This approach worked wonders in past seasons with players like Ayo Dosunmu and Trent Frazier. Now, Underwood is applying the same strategy with starting guards Kylan Boswell and Kasparas Jakucionis. Boswell and Jakucionis delivered standout performances in Illinois’ thrilling 80-77 Braggin’ Rights victory over Missouri on Dec. 22. They combined for 37 points, 11 rebounds,

At 6:00 ET, the Toronto Raptors (7-24) will host the Atlanta Hawks (17-15) in an Eastern Conference matchup. The Hawks are currently favored by 1.5 points, and they have won three straight games. On the other hand, the Raptors have lost nine in a row and are 14th in the East. This game will be played at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto and can be seen on TSN. The over/under line is set at 237.5. The Hawks improved to 17-15 on the season with a 120-110 win over the Heat on Saturday. Playing at home, Atlanta entered the game as 1-point favorites and covered the spread with the 10-point victory. Atlanta jumped out to a 35-28 lead after the 1st quarter,

At 7:00 ET, the Memphis Grizzlies will travel to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in a Western Conference matchup. The Thunder (-251) are favored by 7 points over the Grizzlies (+207). The over/under line for the game is currently set at 229.5 points. Oklahoma City (25-5) is currently on a 10-game winning streak and is ranked 1st in the Western Conference. Memphis (22-10) is ranked 2nd in the West and has won two straight games. Memphis improved to 22-10 on the season with a 132-124 road win over the Pelicans on Friday. The Grizzlies, who were favored by 7.5 points, covered the spread, while the game’s total of 256 points went over the 238.5-point line. A key moment came

Betting on today’s Senators and Wild game? Catch the action at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN, as the Wild hosts this showdown at 8:00 ET on ESPN+. The over/under for this non-conference contest is set at 5.5 goals, with the Wild being the favored by -1.5 goals against the Senators. With a 3-0 win over the Kraken, Ottawa improved to 18-15-2 this season. The Senators entered as the puck line favorites and covered the -1.5 goal line. The total was set at 6.5 goals, but the combined score of 3 fell well short. All three of Ottawa’s goals came from different players, with Adam Gaudette opening the scoring at 5:28 in the first period. Brady Tkachuk added another