OMAHA, Neb. – Third-seeded Illinois pulled away in the second half to secure an 85-69 victory over No. 14 seed Morehead State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday afternoon at CHI Health Center Omaha. The Fighting Illini shot 60.7% in the second half and outscored the Eagles 46-31 to secure their first NCAA Tournament win since 2022.
Marcus Domask recorded his first-career triple-double, registering 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. It marks the sixth triple-double in Illinois' program history, the first by an Illini in the NCAA Tournament, and only the 10th overall in NCAA Tournament history. Having already recorded double-digit boards and assists, Domask capped off the triple-double performance with a dagger 3-pointer at the 2:58 mark of the second half, the team's final field goal of the game.
Tallying a season-best scoring total, Dain Dainja scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half while shooting a perfect 9-for-9 from the field. Dainja also grabbed eight rebounds, including three on the offensive glass, and he made two blocks to match his season-best tally.
Terrence Shannon Jr. finished with a team-high 26 points, his fifth consecutive game with at least 20 points. Totaling 19 points in the first half, Shannon went 2-for-3 from the field in the second period of play. He also amassed four assists, two rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. Shannon's performance gives him 669 points for the season, breaking the Illinois program single-season scoring record by one point.
Coleman Hawkins accumulated 10 points, and he went 2-for-3 from 3-point range. He also tacked on five assists, four rebounds, two steals, and one block.
Luke Goode tallied nine points on three 3-pointers. He also hauled in four rebounds. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn added six points off the bench, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers late in the first half.
After Morehead State opened the game 9-0, Illinois settled in and responded with a 9-2 run to cut its deficit down to two points. Shannon had seven of the Illini's first nine points, though the Eagles held an early 11-9 advantage.
Dainja and Shannon combined for the Orange and Blue's first 13 points. With Morehead State ahead by six, Goode connected from 3-point range to cut Illinois' deficit to 19-16, with just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half. Shannon then moved into double figures with a steal and transition dunk, moving the Illini's deficit down to one, 19-18.
Shannon made his first 3-pointer of the afternoon before Hawkins accounted for the Illini's next five points, which came on a dunk and stepback three, the latter of which moved Illinois' deficit back to one point.
Hawkins' triple started an 11-2 run for the Illini. Shannon's and-1 layup less than one minute later put Illinois in front for the first time before Gibbs-Lawhorn connected from 3-point land. Shannon somehow got an acrobatic layup to fall through contact, which rounded out the two-and-a-half-minute run and put the Orange and Blue in front, 34-29.
Domask picked up his first points just over one minute later before Gibbs-Lawhorn rattled in his second trey of the day, which tied his career-best mark and signaled the Illini's final field goal of the first half.
Illinois went into the intermission with a 39-38 advantage, led by a team-high 19 points from Shannon. The Illini got 13 points from their bench, which included six from Gibbs-Lawhorn and four for Dainja.
Morehead State retook the lead early in the second half before Shannon made one of the plays of the day. Diving on the floor to track down a loose ball before throwing it back off a defender's knee, Shannon moved past the 20-point mark for the fifth consecutive game with a layup on the ensuing possession to put Illinois briefly back in front.
Dainja then accounted for the Illini's next nine points, which moved him into double figures for the eighth time this season and for the second time in his last four games. Dainja scored 11 points during a 14-3 Illini run, which he capped off with an emphatic transition dunk to force a Morehead State timeout. That stretch, which spanned four-and-a-half minutes, gave Illinois its largest lead at that point in the contest, 57-48, with 12 minutes to play.
A 3-pointer from the Eagles cut Morehead State's deficit down to single digits, but that did not last for long. A 9-0 run, which included points from four different Illini scorers, over a two-minute stretch pushed Illinois' edge up to 17 points with nine minutes remaining.
Five straight points from Hawkins, including his second 3-pointer, moved the Illini's advantage over the 20-point mark. Having already reached double-digit assists and rebounds, Domask then knocked down two 3-pointers in the span of 90 seconds, which clinched his triple-double.
Leading by as many as 24, the Illini closed the contest on a 42-24 run to secure a spot in the second round of postseason action.
Illinois now plays Saturday in the second round vs. 11th-seeded Duquesne.
HIGHLIGHTS
PRESS CONFERENCE
POSTGAME NOTES
Player Notes
- Terrence Shannon Jr. recorded a team-high 26 points, while adding four assists, two steals and two blocks.
- Set Illinois' 58-year-old single-season scoring record (668 points by Don Freeman in 1965-66), finishing the game with 26 points to move him 669 on the year.
- Scored in double figures for the 39th straight game
- Recorded multiple 3-pointers in his fifth straight game and for the ninth time in his last 10 outings.
- Has scored 20+ points in 19 games as an Illini, tied for second-most on the program's all-time list (since 1971).
- Recorded multiple blocks and multiple steals in the same game for the second time this season.
- Marcus Domask recorded a triple-double with 12 points, and game-highs of 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
- Recorded the sixth triple-double in Illinois men's basketball history.
- Became the fifth different player to record a triple-double in program history joining Coleman Hawkins, Ayo Dosunmu (twice), Sergio McClain, and Mark Smith (1979).
- Tallied the 10th triple-double in NCAA Tournament history joining Murray State's Ja Morant (2019), Michigan State's Draymond Green (twice, 2011 and 2012), Kansas' Cole Aldrich (2009), Marquette's Dwyane Wade (2003), Utah's Andre Miller (1998), St. John's David Cain (1993), LSU's Shaquille O'Neal (1992), and Michigan's Gary Grant (1987).
- Scored in double figures for the 27th time this season.
- Grabbed double-digit rebounds for the third time this season.
- Dished out double-digit assists for the second time this season, his third straight game with at least eight.
- Dain Dainja posted 21 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks.
- Secured a season-high 21 points, including 17 in the second half.
- Scored in double figures for the eighth time this season.
- Shot a perfect 9-for-9 from the field, and is 13-for-13 from the field over his last two games.
- Tied a season high with two blocks.
- Coleman Hawkins recorded 10 points, four rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.
- Poured in double-digit points for the 20th game this season.
- Connected on two 3-pointers, his 16th game with multiple 3-point makes.
- Had 5+ assists for the seventh time this season.
- Luke Goode recorded nine points and four rebounds.
- Knocked down three 3-pointers, his 11th game with 3+ triples this season.
- Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn added six points and one rebound.
- Connected on both of his 3-point attempts in the final 5:19 of the first half.
- Registered multiple makes from 3-point range for the second time this season and for the first time since the Illini's regular-season opener against Eastern Illinois on Nov. 6..
Team Notes
- Illinois improves to 27-8, the third-most wins in program history and the team's most victories in 23 years since the 2000-01 team finished 27-8 during its run to the Elite Eight.
- Thursday's win marked the 250th of head coach Brad Underwood's career in 11 total seasons at Stephen F. Austin, Oklahoma State, and Illinois.
- Illinois is now 43-34 all-time in NCAA Tournament games.
- The Illini improve to 32-16 as the higher (better) seed in the NCAA tournament and are now 4-3 all-time as a No. 3 seed, and 3-2 all-time vs. the No. 14 seed.
- Illinois is now 25-9 when playing its opening game of the NCAA Tournament and has won its first game in five of its last six NCAA Tournament appearances (2011, 2013, 2021, 2022, and 2024)
- Illinois' 12 3-pointers are tied for third in program history in an NCAA Tournament game.
- The Illini dished out 24 assists, tied for third most in an NCAA Tournament game in program history.
- Illinois' seven blocks broke the program record for most rejections in an NCAA Tournament game set in 2002.
- Illinois advances to face No. 11 seed Duquesne on Saturday. The Illini are 2-1 all-time vs. Duquesne, including a win in the 1952 NCAA Tournament, but the programs have not met since the 1989-90 season.
