Small's team keeping its head in the games — and more

Feb. 28—LAS VEGAS — Before competing in this week's Southern Highland Collegiate, the Illinois men's golf team planned a Friday practice round in the Las Vegas area.

Then, a watch party.

The round should have wrapped up in time for the team to make its way to a nearby restaurant, preferably one with TVs tuned in to the Fox broadcast for the Big Ten men's basketball showdown featuring No. 10 Illinois and No. 3 Michigan back at State Farm Center in Champaign.

The connection between the golfers and other teams on campus is a strong one, encouraged by coach Mike Small, the son of former Illinois basketball standout Bill.

"That's healthy for all the student-athletes," Small said. "The sports have become so independent, so important, and the time spent at each program is more than it was when I played. This is a 110 percent, you're all in."

The athletic department in general and athletic director Josh Whitman in particular have advocated a mixture of the teams in their campus housing, at study halls and in the weight room.

"I do know when it comes to football, and men's basketball, women's basketball, wrestling, baseball ... we're following the scores," Small said, "We're talking about it on the road together and pulling for everybody."

Illinois senior Ryan Voois, fresh off individual and team titles at the Hal Williams Collegiate in Mobile, Ala., attends men's basketball games whenever his schedule allows.

"Our athletic program is a big family," Voois said. "We know some of the guys on the basketball team, football. The basketball team was out there supporting us at (NCAA) regionals. The football team was out there supporting us. I love getting to go to football games and socializing with other athletes, too."

Voois has played golf with basketball player AJ Redd.

"He could use some work on his golf swing," Voois said. "They all want to get involved with golf."

Making a mark

Starting Sunday, the Illini try to continue their momentum from the win earlier this month in Alabama against a strong field in Las Vegas.

Illinois is a regular at the event, hosted by UNLV, winning in comeback fashion in 2023. Small likes to test his team.

"This is a strong field," he said. "A lot of Top 10 teams. Warm-weather schools, very few schools from where we're located. A lot of schools don't venture out to this stuff this time of year. This is a total win for us. We get to see where we're at. We're playing a hard golf course that requires a lot of discipline. It requires course management. You've got to control their ball flight."

The weather will certainly be more golf-friendly. Temperatures are forecast in the high 70s to low 80s during the tournament.

"The wind can get rough," Small said. "If you miss some greens, it will put pressure on you."

Small's team enters every tournament — and every season — with lofty goals. Competing at the highest level is the expectation for a program striving for its first national championship.

"It's hard. I think it's a good thing though," said Dane Huddleson, a junior transfer from Utah Valley. "It's good for your mental toughness."

His teammate agrees.

"I think when the expectation is high, the standard is high," Voois said. "We have so much support here and we're given so much."

First look

Huddleston will play in the Las Vegas event with his new team for the first time. Small likes what he has seen from Huddleston so far since he joined his new team.

"He's really become a part of the program very easily, very smoothly," Small said. "I think he really enjoys it. He had a good team at Utah Valley, but not a lot of depth."

Huddleston went to the NCAA tournament as an individual in 2025 and just missed advancing out of the regional.

"I'm excited for him," Small said. "He's got a year and a half left with us now. You can tell he's excited about it."

Huddleston had multiple options when he decided to leave Utah Valley. But Illinois stood out.

"I had three visits lined up," Huddleston said. "I came here first and I just loved everything about it and I loved Coach Small so I just decided to commit on the spot. I didn't go to those two other places. I just had a feeling."

Team success topped his list of priorities.

"My dream is to win a national championship as a team," Huddleston said, "and I believe we can do that here."

Tyrone and Offaly will go head-to-head in the National Football League, with the match being broadcast live by BBC viewers. This Gaelic football encounter promises competitive action as both teams battle for league points.

The match kicks off at 20:30 Uhr. Reporter Dirk Feustel will provide live commentary for this upcoming fixture.

Ryan Gravenberch showed some top-tier game intelligence in providing the assist for Hugo Ekitike’s early goal against West Ham this afternoon.

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For only the second time since the Merseyside derby in September, Liverpool scored inside the opening 40 minutes of a Premier League match. In fact, they needed just five to hit the front against the Irons today.

The away side won the first header when defending a corner kick in front of the Kop and looked primed to launch a counterattack before a crucial intervention by the Reds midfielder.

Gravenberch tees up Ekitike with smart assist

With two West Ham players swiftly converging on him, Gravenberch read the situation perfectly and played a first-time pass into Ekitike, who held his run in order to remain onside.

The Liverpool striker then took one touch to set himself before arrowing a low shot beyond Mads Hermansen in the Irons goal to fire the home side into a very early lead.

(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Excellent reading of the play from Gravenberch

Much like his team in general, the 23-year-old’s performances this season have fluctuated between the sublime and the subdued, but when the Dutchman is at his best, he is unquestionably one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.

As the ball dropped to him from the second West Ham headed clearance, he could easily have taken a touch to try and get the ball under control – as many players might well have done in that situation – but he know that doing so would risk him being dispossessed and the Irons breaking upfield swiftly.

Instead, he read that danger and played an inch-perfect pass into Ekitike, who showed the requisite composure to bag his 16th goal of the season for Liverpool and settle any early nerves there may have been at Anfield.

Hermansen will be disappointed to have been beaten on his near post, but from a Reds perspective, it was a well-worked goal between two intelligent footballers, and it was refreshing to see Arne Slot’s side score in the opening minutes rather than waiting until the second half, as has often been the case this term!

You can view Ekitike’s goal against West Ham below, taken from Premier Sports’ match coverage and shared via @livegoals001 on X:

Kiffin, who controversially left Ole Miss for LSU in November, was caught off guard by the interruption.

The football coach eventually responded to the gymnast with a two-word dig.