MINNEAPOLIS – Champions. Closing the game on an 8-2 run over the final two minutes, Illinois secured its fourth Big Ten Tournament title in program history, taking down Wisconsin, 93-87, at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
The Illini will return to Champaign with some hardware, using a second-half surge to take down the Badgers and win their second conference tournament crown in four years.
Terrence Shannon Jr., who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, once again led the way offensively for the Illini, as he made a 3-pointer with 1:28 to play to put Illinois ahead for good before finishing with a game-high 34 points. Making four of his final five shots from the field, Shannon brought his weekend scoring total up to 102 points, the second-most by a player in Big Ten Tournament history. Shannon also totaled three 3-pointers, four rebounds, two assists, and one steal, while he made a career-most 15 free throws.
Marcus Domask totaled 26 points, his 10th game this season with at least 20 points. Domask went 8-for-11 from the field and 9-for-10 from the free-throw line, while he also grabbed four of his seven rebounds on the offensive glass. He also dished out eight assists for the second straight game.
Dain Dainja went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and scored nine points off the bench, while he also hauled in seven rebounds.
Despite battling foul trouble, Ty Rodgers amassed seven points and five rebounds, three of which came on the offensive glass. He also had one assist, one block, and one steal.
Coleman Hawkins ended the day with seven points, six rebounds, and two blocks, with his two swats bringing him up to 100 in his career.
Quincy Guerrier tallied two 3-pointers, which accounted for all six of his points.
Four of the Illini's five starters scored before the first media timeout, a stretch that included 3-pointers from Hawkins and Guerrier. Grabbing three offensive rebounds within the first four minutes of action, the Orange and Blue jumped out to an early 10-6 advantage.
After the Badgers took their first lead just over six minutes into the contest, the Illini responded with makes on three of their next four trips down the floor to even the contest at 18 halfway through the opening frame. Seven different Illini recorded points during that stretch, while Rodgers was the lone Illinois scorer with multiple field goals through the opening 10 minutes.
Wisconsin briefly extended its edge to four points before Illinois fought back with a 5-0 run to move back in front. Shannon connected from 3-point range for his first field goal of the day during that 90-second stretch, which saw the Illini take a slim 23-22 advantage.
Neither side led by more than four points over the next five minutes, though Shannon moved into double figures with a layup with just over three minutes remaining in the opening frame. The Illini then closed the period with a 5-0 run, all of which came from Shannon, to give Illinois a 41-40 advantage heading into halftime.
Shannon totaled 15 points before the break, a team-high mark, while Domask had nine points while shooting 75% from the field through the first 20 minutes of play.
Following the intermission, the two sides combined to make their first 10 shots from the field, though the Badgers accounted for six of those field goals and held a 55-49 edge at the first media timeout of the second half. Domask had six of the Illini's first eight points during those four minutes, bringing him into double figures for the second straight contest.
With Wisconsin's lead growing to double digits with 14-and-a-half minutes to play, Illinois used a 10-2 run in a two-minute span to cut its deficit down to two. Guerrier made his second 3-pointer of the day during that stretch, while Dainja made an and-1 layup to close out the momentum-shifting run.
Dunks from Hawkins and Dainja and a driving layup from Shannon put the Illini back in front before Domask connected from 3-point range, completing a 9-1 run for the Orange and Blue and giving Illinois a 70-65 advantage with just over nine minutes to play.
The Illini's lead soon climbed up to six points after Shannon and Domask combined for the Illini's next nine points, though the Badgers battled back to knot the game at 79 with just over five minutes left.
After Wisconsin briefly took a lead with four minutes remaining, two Domask free throws and a Shannon jumper put Illinois back in front, 85-82. The Badgers then drained a triple to even the contest at 85 before Shannon found himself open at the top of the arc and splashing in his third 3-pointer of the day, putting the Illini back ahead, 88-85.
Grabbing a steal on Wisconsin's next possession, Shannon went coast to coast before being fouled. His two free throws extended Illinois' edge up to five points with one minute remaining.
Closing the game on an 8-2 run over the final two minutes, the Illini clinched their fourth conference tournament title in program history.
HIGHLIGHTS
PRESS CONFERENCE
POSTGAME NOTES
Player Notes
- Terrence Shannon Jr. registered a game-high 34 points en route to earning Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors.
- Was named the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player, the fourth player in program history to earn that distinction.
- Shannon is one of 11 players to average 30+ points per game (min. 3 games) in a conference tournament since at least 1996-97, while he is one of only three players to do so in a power-conference tournament during that span, joining Kevin Durant at Texas (2007) and Doug McDermott at Creighton (2014).
- Shannon's 102 points across three games in the Big Ten Tournament ranks second all-time in tournament history.
- Shannon's 38 free throws over the Illini's three tournament games tied the all-time tournament record.
- Now has six games with 30+ points, and he has back-to-back 30+-point games for the first time this season.
- Recorded his fourth consecutive game with 20+ points and his team-leading 18th such game this season.
- Scored in double figures for the 38th game in a row.
- Made three 3-pointers in the contest, his 21st game this season with multiple makes from beyond the arc.
- Shannon went 15-for-17 from the free-throw line, which set a new career-best mark and came one free throw shy of the tournament record.
- Marcus Domask totaled 26 points, seven rebounds, and a team-high eight assists while shooting 8-for-11 from the field.
- Registered his 10th 20-point performance of the season.
- Finished with double-digit points for the second straight game and for the 26th time overall this season.
- Had eight assists for the second consecutive game.
- Set a new season-best mark with four offensive rebounds.
- Quincy Guerrier finished with six points, all of which came on 3-pointers.
- Made two 3-pointers, his 10th game this season with multiple triples.
- Ty Rodgers collected seven points, five rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal.
- Had 3+ offensive rebounds for the fifth consecutive game.
- Recorded seven points for the fifth game in a row.
- Had at least one block and one steal in his sixth game this season.
- Coleman Hawkins amassed seven points, six rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.
- With his second block of the day, Hawkins became the only player in Illinois' program history to record 900+ points, 500+ rebounds, 200+ assists, 100+ blocks, and 100+ steals.
- Has 7+ points in 12 of his last 13 games.
- Hauled in six rebounds for the sixth consecutive outing.
- Had multiple swats for the third consecutive game and for the 11th time overall this season.
- Dain Dainja added nine points and seven rebounds off the bench.
- Equaled his season-best mark with 22 minutes of action off the bench.
- Went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, his most makes without a miss this season.
- Luke Goode was held scoreless, though he grabbed two rebounds and made two blocks.
- His two blocks set a new career-best mark.
Team Notes
- The Illini won their fourth Big Ten Tournament title, which ranks tied for second-most among conference programs.
- Brad Underwood is 7-4 all-time in Big Ten Tournament games. His .636 winning percentage is tied with Tom Izzo (35-20) as the best among all active Big Ten coaches and the fourth-best ever among coaches who have coached 10 or more games.
- Illinois shot 26-for-30 from the free-throw line, which tied their Big Ten Tournament record for makes from the stripe.
- The Illini's 26 made free throws are the team's second-most in a game this season.
- Illinois has made 20+ free throws in 11 games this season.
- The Illini shot 61.6% from the field in the second half, finishing with a 52.6% mark.
- Illinois outscored Wisconsin in the paint, 40-36, and in fast-break points, 15-7.
- The Illini moved to 6-0 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament against the No. 5 seed.
- Illinois has won the Big Ten Tournament three of the five times it has been a No. 2 seed.
- The Illini are now 4-3 all-time against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament, while they are 2-3 against the Badgers when meeting in the conference tournament's title game.
- Illinois has defeated Wisconsin in eight straight contests, the second-longest streak for the Illini in series history (trails only a 16-game winning streak from 1981-89).
