After losing to No. 3 Purdue on Tuesday, No. 12 Illinois men’s basketball traveled to Iowa looking to avenge its Senior Night defeat. Iowa entered the night on the bubble of NCAA tournament projections and desperately needed a marquee win to boost its resume. Much to the dismay of the Hawkeyes’ sold-out arena, the Illini claimed a 73-61 win and ended their season at second place in the Big Ten.
Head coach Brad Underwood closed the regular season with the same starting lineup that started it. Graduate student forwards Quincy Guerrier and Marcus Domask stood next to fifth-year guard Terrence Shannon Jr., senior forward Coleman Hawkins and sophomore guard Ty Rodgers.
Iowa came down with the tipoff, but its first shot rimmed out. Both squads exchanged misses before Guerrier kicked off scoring at the free-throw line. Shannon and Guerrier added Illinois’ first pair of field goals while Iowa was held scoreless through the first three minutes (6-0). By the time Iowa got its first points, Illinois already owned a 10-0 lead and had a head full of steam.
Illinois went to the bench early, subbing in graduate student guard Justin Harmon, redshirt junior forward Dain Dainja, junior guard Luke Goode and redshirt freshman guard Niccolo Moretti. Baskets from Moretti, Dainja and Domask opened up a 17-2 lead through the first seven minutes of play. Even when the Hawkeyes managed to inch closer with a pair of free throws, Guerrier responded with a powerful dunk in transition (19-4).
An and-one finish from Shannon and a triple from Guerrier continued Illinois’ offensive barrage, which was made even more impressive by staunch defense limiting Iowa to just six points. Five more points for Shannon moved him to 12 in the game and opened up a 21-point lead with 9:31 remaining in the first half (30-9).
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Momentum began to shift towards the Hawkeyes from there, who strung together a 10-1 scoring run that halved the Illini’s advantage. Even after Shannon gave Illinois a basket to break the drought, Iowa continued to climb.
The Illini finally got back into a groove after a three-pointer moved the Hawkeyes within eight points with just under three and a half minutes before halftime. Contributions from Shannon on both ends were the root of the turnaround, with a three-pointer giving Illinois some much needed offense and a transition block preventing a free layup.
Those efforts culminated in Illinois still holding a 10-point lead at halftime, 39-29. Shannon had an efficient 18 points, converting seven of his 11 attempts from the floor. The Illini also stepped up as rebounders and outrebounded the Hawkeyes 24-14.
Guerrier was once again the first scorer for either squad, notching an offensive rebound and two points for the Illini. Shannon also continued to score at will and added five quick points to push Illinois’ lead to 14 (46-32). However, the Hawkeyes quickly got back to what was bringing them success in the first half. Over the ensuing six minutes, Iowa shaved another 10 points off of Illinois’ lead and only trailed by four for the first time since the opening minutes of the game.
Domask and Dainja offered a response for Illinois, with Domask contributing back-to-back baskets and an assist to Dainja while Dainja reached out for a big block on the defensive end. The lead getting back to double digits drew a timeout from Iowa, which turned into back-to-back threes in its favor (59-53).
Once again, Domask and Dainja turned the tide for Illinois and combined for five points in 35 seconds. On top of a quick answer on offense, the Illini held the Hawkeyes scoreless for almost four minutes (67-53).
The Illini successfully defended their double-digit lead over the closing minutes for an eventual 73-61 victory. Shannon was Illinois’ leading scorer with 25 points while Guerrier picked up a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double. Illinois will begin its postseason on March 15 as No. 2 in the Big Ten tournament.
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