Per Scott Burgesss, four-star center Barret Benson has given a verbal commitment to Chris Collins and Northwestern. Benson is rated as the No. 156 overall recruit in 247Sports' composite rankings and he's the No. 5 player from the state of Illinois.

Benson held an Illinois offer, but there didn't appear to be much mutual interest between the two sides after lackluster Spring evaluation period. Regardless, this loss stings for the Illini because they really need to land a quality post player.

The bad news is that chances aren't considered to be good with any of the remaining big men they're going after.

We'll have more on this momentarily. For more on the program's targets, check out our Recruiting Board.