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When Illinois lost in overtime last Saturday at Michigan State, Boswell was out and Stojakovic was hobbled while Spartans point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. piled up 26 points and 15 assists.

That's reason enough for Illinois (20-5, 11-3 Big Ten) to be keenly interested in getting Boswell and/or Stojakovic healthy and back into the lineup for the Sunday game against Indiana (17-8, 8-6) in Champaign, Ill.

However, when you throw in the fact that Hoosiers shooting guard Lamar Wilkerson went off for 41 points in a 92-74 whipping of Oregon on Monday -- and has averaged 30.8 points over the past four games -- it's close to imperative that the Illini get one or both of their defensive aces back.

"We've had some challenges guarding guards since Kylan's been out," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said.

Boswell, who fractured his right hand in practice on Jan. 19 and underwent surgery, has missed seven games and the Illini have gone 5-2. In addition to Fears, Boyd and Blackwell, Purdue's Braden Smith and Washington's Zoom Diallo enjoyed terrific nights against the non-Boswell Illini.

The good news for Illinois? Boswell (14.3 ppg, 3.4 apg) has practiced all week and is regarded as a game-time decision. Meanwhile, Stojakovic (13.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg) went through pregame warmups against Wisconsin, so it seems to track that he should be more of a sure thing.

Illinois doesn't just need them on defense. Freshman Keaton Wagler could use a break as the team's creator on almost every possession. During Boswell's absence, Wagler has skyrocketed into the NBA Draft lottery projections while averaging 24.6 points and 5.7 assists, but he also has averaged 37.4 minutes.

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"He needs help," Underwood said. "He got picked up 94 feet (by Wisconsin) and they denied him. Not that that bothers him. It's remarkable, quite remarkable what he's been doing and the load he's (carried). I didn't realize he had 34 (points)."

The slender Wagler has attempted 64 free throws over the seven-game stretch as teams have been physical with him and helped extensively when he attacks the paint.

Indiana, meanwhile, feels pretty great after winning five of its past six to climb to No. 30 in the NET rankings entering the weekend. However, the Hoosiers' record against Quad 1 opponents is just 2-7, while Indiana is 15-1 in all other games.

Wilkerson has averaged 33 points over the past three games, boosting his season norm to 21.2 points per game on 38.7% accuracy from 3-point range (84 of 217).

"(Lamar) is playing at an incredibly high level," Indiana coach Darian DeVries said. "He's got to be in that conversation with a few other guys as the best player in the league this year."

The Hoosiers are getting significant contributions from Wilkerson's teammates, too.

Big man Sam Alexis has shot 24 of 25 (96.0%) from the field over the past five games.

Nick Dorn has given Indiana a third legitimate 3-point threat to go with Wilkerson and Tucker DeVries. Since being elevated to the starting lineup six games ago on Jan. 23, Dorn has averaged 14.0 points while hitting 20 3-pointers.

--Field Level Media

The NBA's Rising Stars set the tone Friday, Feb. 13 in an engaging and entertaining showcase that culminated witha stellar performance from Philadelphia 76ers rookie VJ Edgecombeto carry Team Vince — as in Vince Carter — to the Rising Stars championship. And as the NBA All-Star Game has faced widespread criticism for its lack of competitive spirit, let's hope that the league's biggest stars draw inspiration from its "Rising" ones.

In the semifinal round, Edgecombe scored his team's final 10 points to win and carried Team Vince with 23 combined points across both games, including a pair of clutch, game-winning free throws in the championship.

"I appreciate people tuning in, even to the Rising Stars game," Edgecombe told reporters after the game. "We just tried to make it fun, make it competitive, where it's worth your time."

Oct. 26: The Brooklyn Nets' Michael Porter Jr. dunks in front of the San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama at Frost Bank Center.

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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Edgecombe wasn't alone. On the whole, the entire crop of 28 first- and second-year players who participated Friday in the Rising Stars Game established a baseline spirit of competition that has been painfully absent from the supposed gem of the weekend, theactualAll-Star Game.

Did the Rising Stars unleash relentless, playoff-level competition? No, of course not. They didn't need to. What matters here is that they didn't do the bare minimum. They didn't sleepwalk and loaf through the exhibition in a way that insults fans investing their time and capital in the experience.

This is what's crucial for the survival of the NBA All-Star Game, and the All-Star games of all the major domestic sports leagues, if we're being honest. There's a way to strike a balance of elevated competition without compromising safety or risking injury.

This was what the four coaches of the Rising Stars — Carter, Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady and Austin Rivers — preached to their players.

"(The message) was compete hard but be smart," Rockets guard Reef Sheppard, who played for Team Melo, told reporters. "This All-Star Weekend is supposed to be fun. At the same time, don't go out there and just run around. Compete and play, but be smart and have fun."

Said second-year Bulls forward Matas Buzelis, another emerging NBA star and one who combined to score 10 points across the two mini-games for Team Vince: "We weren't trying to just lay back and cruise."

The only shame Friday night was that, understandably, NBC prioritized its Olympic coverage for its primetime national broadcast and was forced to relegate the Rising Stars showcase to streaming-only broadcast Peacock, meaning a chunk of fans missed the showcase.

Several players said they noticed the handful of NBA All-Stars who spent their Friday night in the cosmopolitan city of Los Angeles court-side at the Intuit Dome, taking in the Rising Stars competition.

Donovan Mitchell of the Cavaliers, Scottie Barnes of the Raptors, De'Aaron Fox of the Spurs and Tyrese Maxey of the76erswere all in attendance. All were shown on the jumbotron to applause from the fans in attendance.

It was this last player who, in part, inspired Edgecombe.

"Tyrese is my dog, man," Edgecombe said. "I was like, he ain't coming to watch if I ain't going to play hard. So I was like, I'm going to play hard so at least it's not a waste of his time.

"I know he has a whole lot of stuff he could probably be doing right now, especially being an All-Star. Tyrese is my dog. I love him."

Here's to hoping Maxey and his fellow All-Stars take after these young players to give fans the showcase they deserve.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Rising Stars set the tone for NBA All-Star Weekend with fun showcase

AfterChris Paul announcement his retirementfrom the NBA on Feb. 13 following his release from the Raptors,scuttling his initial plan to retire after the season, the team that arguably expedited his retirement shared a thank you video on social media. The Clippers, the team whose jersey many fans will associate Paul with in the annals of NBA history, shared a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) after they effectively booted him from the team in December.

The thank you video from the team, posted after midnight ET, features a voiceover from Paul talking about his dreams for the Clippers cut in with some of his highlights, and ends with the words "FOREVER A LEGEND. THANK YOU, CP3."

Thank you, CP3 ♥️pic.twitter.com/CUM8HyxXLO

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers)February 14, 2026

REQUIRED READING:Chris Paul announces NBA retirement after sour ending to final season

Paul, of course, established himself as a franchise icon as part of the Lob City Clippers alongside Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. But what was meant to be his swan song was cut short when he was effectively sent home from the team Dec. 3. At the time, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said in a statement:

"Chris is a legendary Clipper who has had a historic career. I want to make one thing very clear. No one is blaming Chris for our underperformance. I accept responsibility for the record we have right now. There are a lot of reasons why we've struggled. We're grateful for the impact Chris has made on the franchise."

It was later reported byESPN's Shams CharaniaPaul wasn't on speaking terms with Clippers coach Tyronn Lue ahead of the ousting.

Paul was traded to the Raptors with the Brooklyn Nets as a third trade partner on Feb. 5 ahead of the NBA trade deadline. After he was waived by Toronto on Feb. 13, he announced his retirement at 40 years old and after 21 seasons.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Paul retires months after being sent home by Clippers, gets thank you video

"Law enforcement activity is underway at a residence near E Orange Grove Rd & N First Ave related to the Guthrie case," the Pima County Sheriff's Office said late Friday night. "Because this is a joint investigation, at the request of the FBI - no additional information is currently available."

Authorities have not confirmed whether anyone has been detained or taken in for questioning.

Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of"Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie, has been missing for nearly two weeks. She was reported missing Feb. 1, and authorities believe she was taken from her home against her will.

The investigation has intensified in recent days. Earlier Friday, the sheriff's office said DNA was collected from Nancy Guthrie's home.Authorities also recovered glovesabout two miles away and are analyzing them to determine whether they match those worn by a masked man seen on surveillance video outside her house on the morning she was abducted.

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Images of that individual were released on Tuesday. The man, who appeared to be armed, was seen in the early morning hours of Feb. 1 attempting to cover Guthrie's doorbell camera. It was disabled minutes later, the sheriff's department said.

Hours after the images were released, aman was taken into custody during a traffic stop south of Tucson. He was released after being questioned by investigators.

Authorities have also been investigating ransom notes sent to multiple news organizations, including KGUN, the Scripps television station in Tucson. The initial note demanded millions of dollars in Bitcoin by Feb. 9 in exchange for Guthrie's release. That deadline passed without any payment being made. The FBI has still not said whether the ransom demand was legitimate.

On Thursday, authorities increased the reward for information leading to a resolution of the case to $100,000.

One ​year after ​Chinese ​startup DeepSeek ‌rattled the global tech industry with the release of a low-cost artificial intelligence ‌model, its ​domestic rivals ​are ​better prepared, ‌vying with it to ​launch ​new models, some designed with more ​consumer ‌appeal.

(Reporting by Kevin ​Yao; Editing by ​Muralikumar Anantharaman)