Illinois basketball doesn’t make things easy, but when that switch is flipped, they are the best team in the country.
On Saturday, the Illini got into an 11-point hole at halftime against Nebraska. That deficit quickly turned into a 15-point hole early in the second half. That is when everything changed.
Terrence Shannon Jr. went off and played some incredible basketball, but the entire team started to play in the second half. Shots were falling, and Illinois was outhustling the Cornhuskers. One thing led to another and just like that, Illinois had the lead. We would end up cruising to a 98-87 win over Nebraska to advance to the Big Ten Tournament title game.
Here are five epic observations from the Illinois basketball win over Nebraska
1. Terrence Shannon Jr. just had a legendary game
I have been on Earth a long time, albeit not as long as some people reading this. My memory of watching Illinois basketball extends multiple decades. I was just talking about how in 1999, the worst team in the Big Ten, No. 11 Illinois, made it to the Big Ten Tournament title game. My power went out right before the tip-off, and we had to watch the game at my uncle's house.
My memory of Illinois basketball extends a ways back, and I can confidently sit here and say, that what Terrence Shannon Jr. did on Saturday afternoon was the most memorable single-game performance since I have been alive.
Sure, Brandon Paul can put up a big game and beat Ohio State in the middle of the season. There have been game-winning shots over the years as well. But when you do what Shannon did on Saturday, in the Big Ten Tournament, to go to the championship game, that is one for the ages.
From start to finish, Shannon was great. He elevated Illinois when no one was awake through the first half. He had a combination of being aggressive and perimeter shooting. I have never seen anything like what I saw from Shannon against Nebraska.
Shannon ended up dropping 40 points in the win over the Cornhuskers. That is a Big Ten Tournament record. He was 11-of-22 from the field and 5-of-9 from three-point range. He hit 13-of-16 from the free throw line as well.
On top of those incredible numbers, the one that makes my jaw drop is the fact he played 34 minutes, had the ball in his hands nearly the entire game, and he didn’t have a single turnover. Not one.
This was the most memorable single-game performance in the history of Illinois basketball. Period. Hard stop.
2. Illinois needed Marcus Domask to find his confidence
Illinois started the game against Nebraska not playing well. Let me rephrase that. Everyone on the Illinois basketball team besides Terrence Shannon Jr. started the game poorly.
Marcus Domask was coming off one of the worst games as a member of the Illini. We squeaked by Ohio State on Friday despite Domask contributing seven points on 3-of-16 shooting from the floor. He was playing some horrific basketball.
But Domask never has back-to-back bad games. He has the memory of a goldfish and forgets about those bad games. Nebraska felt the wrath of Domask once he found his confidence again on Saturday.
It took Domask a little bit to get in the groove, but he hit a couple of free throws and finally saw a three-point attempt hit the bottom of the net. That is when things really turned around.
In the first half, Domask helped keep Illinois close to Nebraska. While the Cornhuskers had an 11-point lead at the break, Domask contributed 10 huge points and was able to keep Illinois alive for a big second-half surge.
Domask ended up with 16 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, and one steal on 5-of-11 shooting from the floor and 2-of-5 from three-point range. Illinois can’t go far if Domask isn’t putting up solid numbers. Even though Shannon had a legendary game, without Domask’s production, a victory wasn’t possible. I am glad to see he got his confidence back.
3. Great time for Luke Goode to ball out
Illinois put up 98 points in a Big Ten game. That alone is an impressive feat. It shows the true firepower this program has on the offensive end of the court.
The fact the Illini can find production from players off the bench helped get us to that 98-point mark. No, I am not talking about Dain Dainja, Niccolo Moretti, Justin Harmon, or Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn. All four of those bench players played 20 minutes and gave Illinois zero points, two rebounds, and one assist.
I am talking about Luke Goode. Yes, that player who has so much potential but hasn’t looked the same in the past month or so. Coming into the game against Nebraska, Goode had failed to score over three points in the prior six contests. He had only scored over three points two times in the past 12 games.
It seemed that Goode had lost confidence, and maybe even the coaching staff lost confidence as well. He was fouling a lot and not making shots. That all changed on Saturday.
Goode came out firing and hustling. He knocked down huge three-point attempts that kept Illinois alive in the game, and he was going for rebounds that he had no business getting to.
By the end of the game, Goode was Illinois’ fourth-leading scorer. He finished the Nebraska game with 12 points, six rebounds, two assists, and one block on 4-of-9 shooting from the field. All of his shots were three-point attempts too.
One of the major stats that jumps out to me is Goode’s rebounding. Not the fact he snagged six rebounds, but the fact four out of the six rebounds were offensive boards. That is a lot of second-chance points for Illinois and a big reason we came away with the win.
Goode was a magician the past month or so. He made his game disappear. Just like a magician, it reappeared at the right time. What a game by the sharpshooting wing.
4. The Illini defense was clutch in the second half
What a disastrous first half of basketball. Illinois’ defense looked like garbage. We couldn’t stop anything Nebraska was doing, and they were hitting shots at an insane rate.
In the first half, the Cornhuskers shot 57.6% from the field and 37.5% from three-point range. This charge was led by Rienk Mast, who started the game with a furry. He was incredible, hitting shots from three-point range and there was nothing Illinois could do about it.
Illinois went into the halftime locker room down 11 points, and that is when Brad Underwood and the Illini coaching staff made adjustments. We came out in the second half and looked like a completely different team defensively.
The Illini gave up 51 points in the first half but only surrendered 36 points in the final 20 minutes of action. What was the biggest change in the Nebraska offense? Mast.
Mast was 5-of-9 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range for 13 points in the first half. Illinois’ adjustments focused more on Mast in the second half and not letting him get free on the perimeter. The result was Mast going 0-of-6 from the field and 0-of-3 from three-point range for two points.
I was blown away by the defensive effort in the second half. Illinois didn’t let Nebraska get loose on the outside, and this affected them greatly. Going from shooting 37.5% from three-point range as a team in the first half to shooting 18.2% in the second half is a massive change in offense. Kudos to the Illinois coaching staff and players.
5. Ty Rodgers continues to impress me
There is a lot to rave about in the 98-87 win over Nebraska. Illinois looked great, especially in the second half, and there were some big-time contributors. One of those contributors was Ty Rodgers.
Rodgers is finally getting the quality playing time he has always deserved, and he is making the most of it. For the second game in a row, I am mentioning Rodgers as a star player who has great potential. I think that is the first time this season.
But, once again, Rodgers was great for Illinois. He was coming off a performance against Ohio State where he finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds, one assist, and one block while going 5-of-8 from the field in 32 minutes of action. He followed that outing with eight points, 13 rebounds, and four assists against Nebraska on Saturday.
The shooting from Rodgers seems to have improved, or at least his decision-making on when to shoot around the bucket. When he gets the ball around the paint, he is aggressive and can finish at the hoop. That couldn’t be said for him last season. The ability to actually put the ball in the bucket has improved greatly.
I would argue Rodgers is one of the best rebounders I have seen in the last 30 years of Illinois basketball. At 6-foot-6, and yes I know I mention his height every time I talk about him, he plays like a 7-foot-2 big man. The ability to rebound the basketball while being sub-6-foot-7 is quite incredible.
The future is so bright for Rodgers. Hopefully, this season ends in a national title, and Rodgers can carry that experience into the 2024-25 campaign as a leader on this team.