Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over Eastern Illinois

Game one is in the books, and the Illinois basketball team took care of business against Eastern Illinois.

The Illini had control of the Panthers for the entire game. We grabbed a double-digit lead with less than 10 minutes to go in the first half and never looked back. A 15-point halftime lead turned into a 30-point victory, 87-57, over Eastern Illinois.

Here are five observations from the Illinois basketball win over Eastern Illinois.

1. Terrence Shannon Jr. was electric

Illinois has had some special talent in years past, but I am not sure we have had someone with a combination of Terrence Shannon Jr.’s size and athletic ability.

Shannon was sensational with Texas Tech, but I felt like his overall athletic ability really never shined. He didn’t have the green light to be himself on the court. With Brad Underwood leading the way, Shannon can now be unleashed on the college basketball world.

Against Eastern Illinois on Monday night, Shannon gave Illini fans what we had hoped he would give us. He dropped 24 points and added eight rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block. He was able to score those 24 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and made 13 out of his 15 free throws.

If you just look at the box score, you will see Shannon’s numbers and think, yeah, he had a good game. But I promise, you have to see this kid in action. He is so electric on the basketball court. Shannon has two speeds; fast and whoo, what was that?

I think Shannon is quickly emerging as the go-to guy for Illinois. He was electric against Eastern Illinois and took over the game. I feel pretty confident everything is going to revolve around Shannon this season.