The Fighting Illini have won a pair of matchups, following a tough loss to a very good Tennessee team in Knoxville, and are now on the path to a top-10 bid once again in the Brad Underwood era, for Fighting Illini basketball. Heating up right in time for the chilly holiday season.
Many would argue (myself included) that the Illini should have found themselves in the top-1o on this weeks AP top-25 charts. Despite a massive 97-73 win over the rival their rival Mizzou Tigers, in St. Louis, the Illini faithful and media will have have to be patient as the voters have placed the Illini at #11 in this weeks polls.
Terrance Shannon Jr did what Terrance Shannon Jr does, and was an absolute star at the enterprise center. Shannon Jr. shot 9-14 from the field, went 2-6 from long range, and pulled down 11 rebounds on the night. After lighting the court up, and drawing fouls what seemed “At will”, Terrence finished the night with 30 points, and advanced his resume even further towards a 1st team All-American status, and a 1st round NBA draft pick.
The kid is a star, and Illinois really has a great shot of doing special things, when March rolls around, because of the level of play Terrance brings to the court night in and night out.
The second best stat line, and maybe just as awesome of a story right now for the Fighting Illini, is the way Quincy Guerrier has stepped up as a leader and major contributor for this Illini team. Many have speculated over the decline of Dain Dainja’s playing time, and I really think you can look no further than how good you look as a team when Quincy is on the court. Guerrier went 8-15 from the floor and 5-8 from behind the arc. An absolutley electric performance from the big man from 3-point range. This level of play, combined with how Coleman is really starting to find his way again, is a great combo for success for Brad Underwood.
Speaking of Coleman, the big man had a very solid night in the Gateway to the Midwest vs the Rival Tigers. Hawkins scored 15 on the night, going 3-5 from behind the arc, and 5-10 from the floor. Again, another big man on this Illini team, that can straight up get hot from deep. We already knew this about Colemans game, but if he can continue to take confident shots, he is deadly from deep range when he gets on a roll. Adding this back into the tool belt for Brad Underwood can only spell good for the for the Illini, but of course, like all else, he must remain at a level of consistency. Coleman believes coming off his Injury that he is just getting started heating up his play, and Illinois as a whole would love to see that trend continue as the Illini ease further towards Big Ten January.
The Fighting Illini are set to take on Farleigh Dickinson in Champaign on Friday (12/29) at 8pm.
Illinois should be more than fine vs the Knights, as they find themselves at 6-7 thus far on the season with some more than questionable losses. Great scheduling for Illinois, and an even better break, as they take another week off from their Mizzou matchup, and will face a struggling mid-major before they take the plunge into the thick of the 2024 Big Ten schedule.
The Fighting Illini should take care of business, and find themselves in the AP-Top 10 entering Big Ten play vs Northwestern on Jan 2nd.
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