5 big observations from the Illinois basketball win over Wisconsin

2. Terrence Shannon Jr. continued to show why he is the top player in the Big Ten

I don’t know what to say about Terrence Shannon Jr. I have never seen a two-game stretch that Shannon just had.

Entering the Big Ten Tournament, I thought Illinois had a good shot at getting to the championship game. I thought we could play some good team basketball with numerous contributors. If we wanted to win big games, we were going to need everyone to pitch in.

At one time this season, I also mentioned that Illinois had a big three. I don’t think either thing is true anymore, though. While Illinois needs role players, we don’t need multiple players to put up big numbers. This is the Shannon show, and he needs his wingman Marcus Domask to help guide the Illini to wins.

Coming off a Big Ten Tournament record of 40 points, Shannon had an encore 34-point performance against Wisconsin. He was sensational from start to finish once again, and there was no one going to stop him.

Shannon was incredible getting to the hoop. When it looks like he doesn’t have control going to the basket, that is when he actually has the most control. There was one play on Sunday when Shannon took it to the hoop and did a spin in the air and almost made the bucket backward.

The three-point daggers really killed Wisconsin too. Shannon hit big shot after big shot, and the Badgers couldn’t do anything about it.

I think Shannon is not only one of the best players in the Big Ten, but he might be the best player in college basketball. Illinois has the Big Ten Tournament crown and is a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. None of it is possible without Shannon in the lineup.