Illinois faces Charlotte, hoping to end 4-game skid

All the euphoria from a season-opening win under a new coach seems to be a distant memory right now for Illinois.

Since then, it's been all disappointment as the Fighting Illini try to avoid a fifth straight loss on Saturday against visiting Charlotte in the first meeting between the teams.

It doesn't seem that long ago that Illinois opened up their season -- and the tenure of Bret Bielema -- with an upset win at home o