Nick Meyer

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Roundtable Sports Writer

Nick Meyer joined Roundtable as a journalist with over 15 years of professional experience. He has covered live pro and college sporting events, teams and athletes throughout the Midwest and beyond, for publications ranging from Yahoo! Sports to Athlon Sports to the Detroit Free Press.

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Illinois Basketball's Projected Starting 5 Named by CBS Sports Insider

Sep 23, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable

Katin Houser's Development Praised by Illinois QB Coach

Sep 23, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable

Illinois Offensive Weapon Grows in Confidence After Position Switch

Sep 23, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable

Illinois Transfer Ranked Among Top 10 NCAA 3-Point Shooters

Sep 23, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable

Rewatching Illinois-UConn Final Four Game

Illinois basketball was favored by 1.5 points against the UConn Huskies ahead of last year's Final Four matchup, but lost 71-62 after falling behind by eight points at halftime. So, what happened? After rewatching much of the game, I saw a Fighting Illini team that was probably just as talented or more talented than Dan Hurley's bunch. The difference came in the experience gap between the two teams, and a team-first approach molded through years of deep NCAA Tournament runs from the Huskies in recent years. UConn looked quicker to the punch on most plays and their ball movement was crisper, a Hurley special. The Huskies finished with 14 assists to three for the Fighting Illini, a stat I couldn't believe after re-watching the game. As Illinois heads into the 2026-27 season, a focus on taking care of the basketball and avoiding turnovers can work wonders. If I'm Brad Underwood, I'm taking the Norman Dale approach (from the classic basketball movie Hoosiers) and making each Illini player pass four times before shooting in every practice. Last year's two leading assist men, Keaton Wagler and Kylan Boswell, are both gone, taking away over seven assists per game and leaving David Mirkovic as the leading returnee from that team with 2.6 assists per game. Illinois won't beat unselfish, crisp passing teams like the UConn and Michigan teams from last year consistently without better passing skills and a more team focused approach. This is one major area to keep an eye on as training camp and the exhibition season begin.Sep 23, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable

5-Star Big Man Reveals Biggest Draw of Brad Underwood's Fighting Illini

Sep 21, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable

Watch: Ex-Illinois Star Gabe Jacas Snags First INT vs. Steelers

Sep 21, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable

Key Illinois Football Transfer Ruled Out For Saturday vs. Southern Illinois

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Sep 19, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable

Brad Underwood Announced as Guest Illinois Football Captain vs. Southern Illinois

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Sep 19, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable

Illinois Basketball Gets National Title Hype From Big Ten Analyst

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Sep 17, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable

Illinois Basketball Outranks UConn in College Hoops Insider's Preseason Top 10

Sep 17, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable

Brutal 7-Game Stretch Highlights Illinois Basketball Schedule

Sep 17, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable

2004-2005 Illinois Makes List of Best Big Ten Basketball Teams Since 2000

Sep 17, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable

Illinois Football Gets Pledge From 3-Star Midwestern Quarterback

Sep 17, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable

Bret Bielema: College Football NIL Disparities 'Never Been Seen Before'

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Sep 16, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable

Bobby Hauck Defense

Illinois' defense had a hard time tackling vs. Duke and is trying to cover up for a lack of size and skill on the defensive line with exotic defensive looks. Watching the Duke tape, it looked like Illinois' front seven has a lot of holes. Duke used motion and unbalanced formations to get to the second level with ease at times. Do you think that defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck can fix these issues? And will he coach for more than a year in Champaign? Bret Bielema admitted he decided to allocate funds to the coaching staff because he couldn't compete for top defensive linemen financially. This is the reality of the NIL era in college football. In my opinion, losing to Ohio State is losing to one thing but losing to Duke is entirely different. Illinois needs to play better on defense and it starts in the trenches.Sep 16, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable

Illinois' Matthew Bailey Makes Honest Admission About Defense's Woes vs. Duke

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Sep 14, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable

Illinois' Collin Dixon Given PFF Honor After Big Game vs. Duke

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Sep 14, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable

Illinois Coach Bret Bielema 'Angry' in Wake of Loss to Duke on Saturday

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Sep 13, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable

Illinois Needs Injury Return in Worst Way

The Illinois Fighting Illini dropped a hard-fought 31-27 game to the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday, and one part of the box score stood out like a sore thumb. Wide receiver Collin Dixon caught 11 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns, but the next highest total was Hudson Clement with four catches for 45 yards. The Fighting Illini are missing wide receiver Jayshon Platt, their star transfer who could be back soon.  Katin Houser has what it takes to be a top tier Big Ten quarterback, but he needs help. Platt is the X-factor for the rest of the season, and a name to watch heading into Big Ten play. Sep 12, 2026

IllinoisRoundtable