The Illini are through to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
After putting away No. 14 Morehead State in the first round, No. 3 Illinois kept the ball rolling with a dominant 89-63 second-round victory over No. 11 Duquesne on Saturday. The team advances to a trip to Boston to face off against the No. 2 Iowa State Cyclones.
There were no surprises from the Illini when it came to the starting five, as fifth-year guard Terrence Shannon Jr., sophomore guard Ty Rodgers, graduate student forwards Marcus Domask and Quincy Guerrier and senior forward Coleman Hawkins took the floor to start.
Guerrier came down with the opening tipoff, and Illinois got going quickly with a 5-2 scoring run after a layup and triple by Domask. The next few minutes saw a five-point gap separate the two sides before the Illini began to run away on the scoreboard. At the 14:00 mark, a free throw from Shannon boosted Illinois to a double-digit lead. Halfway through the first half, the Illini led 27-11.
The lopsided nature of the contest continued as Illinois launched a 16-4 scoring run, sparking roars from across the sea of orange in the arena. Efficiently shooting from across the floor resulted in Underwood’s squad putting together its highest-scoring first half of the 2023-24 season, leading 50-26 at halftime.
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The Illini refused to step off the gas coming out of the break as they took advantage of a dominant first-period showing to close out the final 20 minutes.
Shannon and Domask continued to do what they do best and led the way offensively to increase Duquesne’s deficit on the board. The veterans finished the game with 30 and 22 points respectively, and the Dukes found no answer to the duo. The Illini remained comfortably ahead throughout the rest of the night.
The 12:47 mark saw Illinois’ advantage reach 30 points following a layup from redshirt junior forward Dain Dainja. Another strong display from Dainja saw the big man shoot a perfect 4-4 from the field against Duquesne.
By the final buzzer, Illinois found itself in front by a 26-point margin to book its spot in the next round — the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2005.
The Illini’s dance through the NCAA tournament continues on Thursday, where they will face the Iowa State Cyclones in Boston.
@james_kim15
