West Coast AFL coach Adam Simpson says his decision to hand Shannon Hurn the captaincy two years ago was a no brainer that has reaped big rewards.Hurn will notch his 200th game when he lines up in Thursday nights elimination final against the Western Bulldogs at Domain Stadium.The 29-year-old was appointed skipper at the end of 2014 when Darren Glass retired and West Coast have since transformed themselves back into a premiership contender.The Eagles reached the grand final in Hurns first year at the helm and while they could only manage sixth place this year, they enter the finals in the hottest of form after beating GWS, Hawthorn and Adelaide in consecutive weeks.Hurn has been a strong contributor and Simpson says the South Australian was the perfect choice as captain when the job came up two years ago.Well, he campaigned pretty hard in that pre-season in 2014, he joked on Monday.Its player vote as well as the coaches input.It was a bit of a no brainer in the end. The votes were pretty clear.To take over from someone like Darren Glass is a big void to fill. His leadership has been really important for our club.Hurn was quick to play down the significance of his milestone, saying West Coasts finals series was at the forefront of his thinking.But he said he was proud to join current and former teammates like Matt Priddis, Dean Cox, Glass, Daniel Kerr and Quinten Lynch in West Coasts 200 club. Nike Sb Blazer Low Sale . Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season. Nike Blazer Sb Mid Sale . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead. http://www.cheapblazershoes.com/ . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. Off White Nike Blazer For Sale . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. Nike Blazer Clearance . 24 Baylor in a Big 12 clash between teams trending in opposite directions. Andrew Wiggins made 10-of-12 from the foul line and scored 17 for Kansas (14-4, 5-0 Big 12), which capped a stretch of four straight games against ranked opponents unscathed. CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois forward Malcolm Hill missed his first four shots from the field Friday, mirroring his teams slow start in the season opener against Southeast Missouri State.But the senior was pulling down rebounds, and the shots started falling late in the first half.Hill finished with 21 points and eight rebounds to lead the Illini past Southeast Missouri 81-62.Maverick Morgan added 16 points for Illinois and was 8 of 8 from the field. Michael Finke scored 12 and pulled down seven rebounds, while sixth-year guard Tracy Abrams scored 13 in his return after two-straight seasons out with injuries.Southeast Missouri opened hot, riding Antonius Clevelands eight early points for a 25-18 lead and keeping a sparse opening-night crowd quiet.But the Illini turned their defense up and started finding the basket, going on a 12-0 run to turn that seven-point deficit into a 30-25 lead on a 3-pointer from the left corner from guard Tracy Abrams.Illinois coach John Groce was happy his team survived the early charge, something he credited to having a team heavy on seniors.When our shots werent going in early, I thought our defense was kind of porous early, yet we kind of just kept hanging in there, Groce said.Illinois finished the night 58.6 percent from the field, including 19-22 from 2-pount range.The key to turning on Illinois defense was communication, Abrams said.We talked a little bit more down the stretch, we took on the challenge even more. We started talking more.Southeast Missouri coach Rick Ray liked his teams fast start. But the Redhawks did not respond on defense when Illinois started finding the basket, he said.I told our guys I have every confidence well be able to score the ball, a hoarse Ray said. The question is defense and rebounds.Milos Vranes led Southeast Missouri with 12 points. Cleveland finished with 10.BIG PICTURESoutheast Missouri: The Redhawks are coming off a 5-24 season and struggled in their only exhibition game, trailing by six at the half against Division II Missouri S&T before pulling out an 84-77 win.dddddddddddd After taking the early lead on Friday, the Redhawks were mostly outmanned against a team with far bigger players. One of their biggest problems was on the boards. The Illini outrebounded Southeast Missouri 37-22.Illinois: One of Illinois most pressing early questions will be who emerges as the primary point guards. The team lacked a true point guard at times last season, one of the key problems in a 15-19 season. Abrams started Friday and senior Jaylon Tate backed him up but also shared the court at time, playing 25 minutes and scoring just two points but dishing out six assists. Talented freshman TeJon Lucas didnt play until 17 seconds were left in the game. Abrams night was encouraging.Groce said he liked the combination of Abrams and Tate on the floor together against a team that specializes in forcing turnovers.Those guys know each other like the back of their hands. I thought they had some good chemistry, he said.WELCOME BACKAbrams hadnt played a regular-season game in two full seasons before Friday. He missed all of 2014-15 with a torn Achilles tendon and all of last season with an anterior cruciate ligament tear. He was a welcome sight Friday, scoring the first points for the Illini on a 3-pointer less than two minutes into the game. He played 27 minutes.BIG MENIllinois is deep in big men, with Morgan and Michael Finke -- both 6-foot-10 -- and the 6-foot-11 Mike Thorne Jr. Morgan and Finke spent much of the night on the floor together. Between them the three scored 30 and had 15 rebounds.UP NEXTSoutheast Missouris home opener will be Sunday against Hannibal-LaGrange, an NAIA school in Hannibal, Missouri.Illinois hosts Northern Kentucky Sunday in the second game of a five-game homestand.---More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.orgFollow David Mercer on Twitter: (at)davidmercerAP ' ' '