Illinois Basketball: Terrence Shannon Jr. rallies Illini to 66-62 win over Northwestern

Terrence Shannon Jr. helped spring an 18-point second half comeback to give the Illinois basketball team a crucial win over Northwestern.

If you turned off Thursday night’s Big Ten tilt between the Illini and Wildcats a little after 9 p.m. CT, you missed arguably the best Big Ten regular season ending in recent memory. Illinois, who has had a roller coaster of a season, gave the State Farm Center and an energized Orange Krush a lifetime of memories.

Behind a 26-point performance from Shannon Jr., 24 of them coming in the second half, the Illini overcame an 18-point halftime deficit to stun the Wildcats, 66-62. The win prevented Northwestern from breaking a 57-year non-sweep drought, something that Illinois has maintained since 1966.

The victory gave Illinois its 19th win overall, as it jumped up to third place in a tie with Indiana, Maryland, and Michigan at 10-7. The Illini now sit one game behind the Wildcats in Big Ten play with just three regular season games remaining. For Northwestern, they now find themselves at 20-8 overall and 11-6 in conference play, barely holding onto second in the Big Ten.

For much of the game, it was not all sunshine and rainbows for the Orange and Blue. Northwestern, winners of five straight entering the rematch in Champaign, saw an offensive onslaught silence the home crowd. Like he has all season, Boo Buie single-handedly carried the Wildcats’ offensive attack throughout the opening half. 22 points in the first half for Buie helped propel Northwestern to a 37-19 advantage.

While Buie was doing a godsend’s worth of work for the Wildcats, the entire Illinois team looked flat. Its worst half of basketball to date saw RJ Melendez, Coleman Hawkins, and Dain Dainja combined for nine of Illinois’ 19 first half points, including an abysmal 3-of-19 from three-point range at one point.

All of a sudden, the game turned on its axis and became the eventual outcome. After the Wildcats led by 15 points midway through the end of regulation, a 20-5 run ensued to tie the game at 59 apiece. Sencire Harris’ layup sent the orange-clad crowd into a frenzy, and a last-ditch effort from Buie to force an extra session fell just short, as the senior guard finished with 35 points to lead all scorers.

Brad Underwood was ecstatic with the play of Shannon Jr., who has come up huge in key games, specifically the UCLA comeback in November 2022.

"“[The second half] was UCLA-Terrence,” Underwood said after the win. “That was early-season [type-stuff]. I had no idea what to expect [from him]. I had no idea pregame if he was going to play. You know, everything in our protocols is about symptoms and reactions to movement and activity, and he was cleared. I usually don’t start guys who have been out for a week or longer, so he came off the bench.”"

His bench presence was hardly noticeable once he entered the game, and when it came down to crunch time, was 100% locked in.

"“My thought process through the end of the game was just to get stops,” Shannon said.  “I didn’t really care about the offensive end.”"

The Illinois basketball team will hit the road for their next game.

Per Underwood, Friday is an off-day for the team, as the Illini will then shift its focus to a Sunday morning tilt against a struggling Ohio State squad at The Schottenstein Center.

Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. CT on CBS, as Illinois will look for a season sweep of the Buckeyes, having won the first matchup, 69-60, on January 24 in Champaign.