No. 14 Illinois should have its leading scorer back in action when it pursues a season sweep of Rutgers on Sunday in Champaign, Ill.
Senior wing Terrence Shannon Jr., who had been suspended indefinitely after being charged with rape in Kansas, received a temporary restraining order Friday from a federal court judge in Illinois, allowing him to rejoin the team.
Shannon was on an All-America trajectory, averaging 21.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists when he was suspended by the team in late December. He piled up a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds in the Big Ten opener against the Scarlet Knights on Dec. 2.
He faces a preliminary hearing in the rape case on Feb. 23.
The Fighting Illini (13-4, 4-2 Big Ten) fared decently in Shannon’s absence. They have forged a 4-2 record and averaged more points per possession in the six games without Shannon (1.22) than the 11 games with him (1.12).
That includes Illinois’ 88-73 win Thursday at Michigan, when five players scored in double figures and the Illini committed a season-low six turnovers.
The key to the success, according to Illinois coach Brad Underwood?
“Not turning the ball over,” he said. “Sharing the ball. Understanding where we’re trying to get (the ball). I mean, it’s no secret. It’s no secret what Penn State did last year, what Villanova does. We try to take advantage of a mismatch and force a double (team). And we’ve got guys who can make those plays. We can really shoot it — and it’s just great balance. We’re running enough action off the back side to get people opportunities.”
Senior center Coleman Hawkins was the biggest beneficiary on Thursday as he delivered the best game of his career with season-high 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and a career-high six steals.
“I think the way we’re playing allows for that,” Underwood said. “We’re not asking him as a 5-man to be a post-up player. We’re doing that with our guards. He’s a point center, if you want to call him that. And yet, defensively, there’s not that many people on the court he can’t guard.”
While Underwood has been enjoying the ride with a group that has been consistently excellent all season, Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell has been trying all sorts of things to find enough offense to match the program’s typically excellent defense that ranks No. 6 nationally per KenPom.
The Scarlet Knights (10-7, 2-4) just might have found something Wednesday in an 87-82 overtime win over Nebraska that included a double-digit comeback in the second half. Rutgers hit season highs for points and rebounds and snagged 25 offensive boards.
Sophomore point guard Derek Simpson led the way against Nebraska with 14 points, a career-high eight assists and a career-high-tying eight rebounds — a far cry from his seven-point, two-rebound, zero-assist effort in Rutgers’ first game against Illinois.
“He was just in command,” Pikiell said. “He’s had games like this. We’ve asked a lot of him as a sophomore. He keeps growing. Derek did what Derek needs to do. Whenever he grabs eight rebounds, I know he’s very involved. He’s really changed his approach to some things.”
Pikiell would love it if his squad can repeat Wednesday’s effort on Sunday in Champaign, Ill. — while ignoring the fact that Illinois ranks about 80 spots ahead of Rutgers on the KenPom and NET lists.
“We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing,” he said. “I tell these guys, ‘Games aren’t won on computers. They’re won with the work that you do and the prep that you do.’
“Now we’ve got to go to Illinois and they’re one of the best teams in the country. It doesn’t get any easier. (But if) these guys keep being connected, keep playing defense and rebounding like that, (put) 87 points on the board, we can beat a lot of teams.”
–Field Level Media
