Fresh off its second Big Ten tournament championship in four years, No. 3 Illinois men’s basketball started the NCAA tournament opposite No. 14 Morehead State. The Eagles entered Thursday afternoon with a 26-8 record that lifted them to a pair of Ohio Valley championships in the regular season and conference tournament. Despite Morehead State putting up a strong fight for the first 30 minutes, Illinois ultimately pulled away for a 85-69 victory thanks to dominant showings from fifth-year guard Terrence Shannon Jr. and redshirt junior forward Dain Dainja.
Head coach Brad Underwood went to his most utilized lineup of the year to start in the NCAA tournament. Graduate student forwards Quincy Guerrier and Marcus Domask were alongside Shannon, senior forward Coleman Hawkins and sophomore guard Ty Rodgers.
Morehead State came down with the tipoff and got right to work knocking down a second-chance three-pointer. The lead quickly blew up as the Eagles continued to drain three-pointers and the Illini failed to answer (9-0).
Shannon was the first Illini to get on the board and notched five points in under 30 seconds to make the deficit much less imposing. Dainja made an immediate impact off of the bench, dropping in a pair of impressive layups to move Illinois within two points (13-11).
Junior guard Luke Goode continued Illinois’ bench barrage with a triple to once again move within possession of Morehead State (19-16). Shannon was the only starter to contribute to Illinois’ first 21 points, totaling 14 points on eight shots.
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Hawkins finally became the second starter to get on the board after just over 11 minutes of play, getting his defender off their feet with a pump fake and driving for a big jam (24-23). That make was all Hawkins needed to get going, as he stepped back for a deep three just a couple of possessions later.
The Illini took their first lead of the game with 5:51 to go in the first half after yet another basket from Shannon, this time capped off by an and-one free throw. Freshman guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn was the third Illini to score off the bench and hit his first three-pointer since late January.
The lead quickly opened up for the Illini after Shannon reached 19 points thanks to an incredibly crafty finish through traffic (34-29). Domask also got his first shot to fall in the closing minutes of the first half after a 0-4 start from the floor. The Wisconsin native has been effective as a playmaker despite the misses and dished out six assists to just one turnover.
Morehead State climbed back and cut the lead to one, but Gibbs-Lawhorn continued to be perfect for Illinois, nailing his second three-pointer of the game after a drawn-out possession found him open in the corner (39-35).
A couple of empty possessions for Illinois allowed Morehead State to climb back within one heading into halftime — 39-38. The bench was much more helpful for Illinois through the first 20 minutes, as Morehead State used just one reserve player and totaled three bench points compared to 13 bench points spread across four Illini.
The Eagles immediately regained the lead with an emphatic dunk to start the second half. Shannon quickly gave the Illini some life, however, and chased down a loose ball and dived to throw it off of the Eagles before scoring on the inbounds (41-40).
Guerrier also got in on the hustle plays and raced back for a massive chase-down block to prevent an easy basket for Morehead State.
After having a solid first half, Dainja took his play to the next level in the second half. Nine quick points were achieved on perfect shooting, all while ripping down crucial rebounds on both ends (50-48).
Illinois continued to go to Dainja, who continued to knock down every single shot he took. Banking in a shot from the midrange was only usurped by a thunderous transition dunk that moved the Minnesota native to 17 points and gave Illinois a game-high nine-point advantage (57-48).
The only time Dainja missed was when he was fouled, and even then he knocked down both free throws to put the Illini in front by 11 points. Even the defensive end saw flashes of dominance from Dainja as he racked up a pair of blocks before sinking his ninth basket of the game.
The Illini lead only ballooned from there, with the only piece of contention being how large it would be by the final whistle. Domask secured a triple-double with 2:55 remaining in the game on a deep three-pointer. His performance of 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists was just the 10th triple-double in NCAA tournament history and the first since 2019.
An all-bench lineup was on the floor for Illinois as the clock wound down for an eventual 85-69 victory. Shannon ended up with a team-high 26 points while grabbing two steals and two blocks. Dainja’s hot second half resulted in a 21-point, eight-rebound performance, and it was accomplished via a perfect 9-9 from the field.
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