It has been nearly 20 years, but the Illinois basketball team is finally back in the Sweet 16.
The Illini took down a tough Morehead State team in the first round, and we ran into a hot Duquesne team on Saturday. This was a Dukes program that just took down the No. 6 seed two days earlier, so they were poised for another upset.
Illinois squashed the chances for an upset quickly. We pounced on Duquesne, and they had no idea what was happening. The game got out of hand in the blink of an eye.
Duquesne never led in the game. They were down by double-digits less than seven minutes in, and that margin would only continue to grow. A 50-26 halftime lead for the Illini ended up growing to an 89-63 win over the Dukes.
Here are five massive observations from the Illinois basketball win over Duquesne
1. Best defensive game of the year from Justin Harmon
Defense hasn’t exactly been a strong point for the Illinois basketball team this season. We average giving up over 73 points per game and rank outside the top 200 nationally.
Through all of the bad defensive play, you could always point out a few of the super bad defensive players on the team. I would argue the worst defensive player Illinois trotted out on the court was Justin Harmon.
Harmon was a reserve the entire season, and when he came off the bench, he would struggle in different areas defensively. The opponent could drive the ball and get around him easily. He wouldn’t get through screens, leaving a man wide-open for a three-point attempt. It was some brutal basketball to watch.
But something changed with Harmon, especially on Saturday night. He was a different player defensively. It is like he woke up and things started to click.
Harmon was great on the defensive end of the court against Duquesne. He wasn’t lazy getting through screens. His effort on the perimeter had a lot to do with the Dukes only shooting 29.4% from three-point range.
Throughout the game, Harmon was active and aware too. Duquesne tried to dump the ball down into the post, but Harmon broke off his man and stepped into the passing lane for a steal. This completely shut down anything the Dukes had going on that possession.
Illinois has had some weaknesses throughout the season. Defense was one of those weaknesses, especially with someone like Harmon. If that is fixed, oh my, this team has a chance to do something really special in the coming weeks.
2. Quincy Guerrier rose from the dead
There are a couple of magicians on the Illinois basketball team. Usually, magicians are fun and exciting. When I refer to magicians, I mean it in a bad way. They make their game disappear.
Quincy Guerrier is one of those magicians. There are times when he looks incredible. He is active and running the court well, and he can even hit shots. But then there are the bad times when he disappears. He doesn’t do much offensively, and his defense looks mediocre at best.
In the first round against Morehead State, Guerrier’s game was nowhere to be found. He played 12 minutes on the court and had zero points on 0-of-2 shooting from the field and missed his lone three-point attempt. He did have three rebounds, one assist, one block, one steal, one foul, and one turnover as well.
Illinois needed more out of Guerrier, though. You are a starter and someone who is in his fifth year in college. Leadership and production should be at a premium with Guerrier.
Against Duquesne, Guerrier rose from the dead. The magician made his game reappear, and it was beautiful to watch. Honestly, when I watch Guerrier play, he reminds me so much of a 1990s NBA player. He has a nice big body that runs the court and finishes at the rim. He has a little Scottie Pippen in him.
Guerrier finished the game against the Dukes with 10 points and six rebounds on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor and missed his lone three-point shot. Guerrier was active, though. That is all I ask. When he is active, he is nearly unstoppable.
The athletic ability of Guerrier is something I haven’t seen often at Illinois. There was a play on Saturday night when an Illini player missed, Guerrier flew in and had a putback dunk over three different players. It was a special play athletically. When Guerrier’s game is clicking, this kid is incredible.
3. Illinois was able to get anything inside
This slide kind of piggybacks off the previous slide. When Quincy Guerrier gets going and is active, he can get into the lane and dominate the game. His presence inside is something special.
Illinois as a team is hard to stop inside the three-point arc. Duquesne felt that wrath on Saturday, as they had zero answers for when Illinois decided to get aggressive and not settle for three-point attempts.
Guerrier is an obvious example of that, as he had 10 points, and all made shots were in and around the paint. Marcus Domask is another prime example of dominance in the paint.
Domask is such a unique player. He never looks like he is going to be a dominant paint player, but he is one of the best paint players I have ever seen come through the Illinois basketball program.
The Dukes got a front-row seat to the Domask dominance. He made one three-point shot and still finished with 22 points. Domask was great with his back to the basket. There was one backdown that started closer to the three-point arc than the basket, but Domask still was able to get his man down into the restricted area and finished at the hoop with an and-one.
You can’t talk about getting anything inside the paint without mentioning Terrence Shannon Jr. too. His ability to get to the hoop and get points is amazing. I think his vision takes him to another level as far as talent goes too. Shannon can see when lanes are opening and when things are collapsing on him. The play when he drove to the left, had three players come down on him, and then dished the ball around those players for a Dain Dainja dunk showed me how special Shannon really is on the court.
Illinois’ ability to get whatever we want inside is special. I can’t wait to see the matchup against a tough Iowa State defense. That is going to be a fun game.
4. Terrence Shannon Jr. has cemented himself as one of the greatest Illini ever
There have been a lot of great players come through the Illinois basketball program. Just in my lifetime, I have had the privilege to see players like Frank Williams, Deron Williams, Dee Brown, and Ayo Dosunmu.
Great Illinois basketball players don’t come around often. We have had some good ones, but there was about a 15-year gap between great players in the mid-2000s through the 2010s.
Ayo broke that drought of great players. He was a great talent, and if the 2020 NCAA tournament wasn't canceled, that experience might have helped propel Illinois further in the 2021 NCAA tournament.
As I said, greatness doesn’t come around often, but I believe Illinois has another player I can call one of the greatest Illini ever. That player is Terrence Shannon Jr.
Shannon was an All-American this season, and he helped propel Illinois to a No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. We scorched our way to the championship game, where we ended up beating Wisconsin to take home the crown.
Entering the NCAA tournament as a No. 3 seed, Illinois hadn’t seen success in the Big Dance in decades. Even our success as a No. 3 seed wasn’t great, with the last two times resulting in a second-round exit and a first-round upset at the hands of No. 14 Austin Peay.
Led by Shannon, Illinois avoided the first-round upset and it wasn’t even close. On Saturday, the same could be said. The Illini hadn’t made the Sweet 16 since 2005. Shannon was four years old.
Illinois cruised to the round of 32 win on Saturday against the Dukes. This was the second straight double-digit NCAA tournament win for the Illini, and it was on the back of Shannon’s greatness.
Through the first two games, Shannon is averaging 28 points, four assists, three rebounds, two steals, and one block while shooting 19-of-30, 63.3%, from the field and 5-of-14, 35.7%, from three-point range.
In this season alone, Illinois now has 28 wins, a Big Ten Tournament crown, and we have advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in nearly 20 years. Shannon is elevating Illinois while putting up incredible numbers. He has easily cemented himself as one of the greatest players in program history.
5. Illinois should always be best friends with the free throw line
This was Illinois’ game from the jump. We started out hitting multiple three-pointers, which got Duquesne in a hole quickly. That is exactly how you beat a team looking for an upset. You let them know that they are inferior talent-wise.
The Illini managed to accomplish this goal early and often. But there were points throughout the game when Illinois started clanking three-pointers off the rim and missing shots. This could have been a great time for the Dukes to go on a run, but Illinois is a smarter team than we were earlier in the season.
When Illinois started missing three-pointers earlier in the year, we would continue forcing shots in the hope the tides were going to turn. On Saturday, instead of continuing to launch three-point attempts and potentially letting Duquesne get some confidence, we went back to driving the ball into the paint.
Getting into the lane and being aggressive toward the basket enabled Illinois to get to the free throw line and get easy points. This thwarted any attempt at a Duquesne comeback, as they went from thinking they had to guard the three-point arc to now having to deal with a bunch of bulldogs coming down the lane and trying to score.
Illinois attempted 17 free throws against the Dukes, which is actually well under our season average of 23.0 free throws per game. But we used the free throw line to our advantage. We didn’t forget about it, and that is important moving forward.
The free throw line needs to be Illinois’ best friend the rest of the way out. Iowa State is going to bring a great defense to the table on Thursday, but as long as we continue to drive and cause contact, we should be able to put points on the board.
Illinois can attack you from so many different areas on the court. The free throw line is one of those areas. Terrence Shannon Jr. was a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe against Duquesne and led the way for the program. I want to see more free throws against the Cyclones, as this is where we need to suffocate a good team like Iowa State.