CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 25 Illinois used a late 22-3 run to take down Oakland, 64-53, at State Farm Center on Friday night. After holding a one-point lead at halftime, the Fighting Illini held the Golden Grizzlies without a point for nearly seven minutes late in the game to secure the win and remain unbeaten this season.
Quincy Guerrier recorded the 14th double-double of his career – and his first as an Illini – with 13 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Guerrier took over in the second half, recording nine points and six boards in his 18 minutes of second-half action.
Terrence Shannon Jr. tallied a team-high 15 points, and he knocked down two 3-pointers, dished out five assists, and grabbed three steals.
Ty Rodgers registered 10 points, the third outing in double figures in his career. He accounted for four pivotal points during the Illini's 22-3 run over a nine-minute stretch in the second half, and he grabbed two rebounds.
Dain Dainja scored 10 points and was a big factor in the Illini's 44-28 edge in points in the paint. He also grabbed seven rebounds, and he notched eight of his 10 points in the first half.
Coleman Hawkins did a little bit of everything on Friday, finishing his 28 minutes of action with eight points, eight rebounds, and five assists. He grabbed a team-high three offensive rebounds while recording zero turnovers in the second half.
The Golden Grizzlies knocked down their first three shots of the night, but the Illini stepped up their defense, forcing Oakland to miss 12 of their next 15 attempts. Dainja registered three consecutive makes, which helped Illinois erase an early eight-point deficit and tie the game at 15 with just under 10 minutes to play in the half.
A 5-0 Illini run – which included a Shannon steal, assist, and dunk – gave the Orange and Blue a late three-point advantage, their largest of the opening half. Illinois ultimately took a slim 28-27 edge into halftime, led by Dainja's eight points before the break.
Illinois used a 5-0 run early in the second half, which included the team's first 3-pointer of the night, to extend its lead to six points just over two minutes into the frame. Marcus Domask then accounted for the Illini's next seven points, giving the home side a one-point lead with 13 minutes to play.
With the visitors leading by three halfway through the period, the Illini started to take control. A Shannon steal and fast-break dunk cut the deficit to a point before layups from Dainja and Ty Rodgers saw the Orange and Blue take a three-point lead with under eight minutes to play.
After the Golden Grizzlies hit a trey to tie the game at 48, Illinois closed the door on an upset bid. A 16-0 Illini run over a six-minute stretch, which included two Shannon triples and five points from Guerrier, put the Orange and Blue ahead by double digits with one minute to play. Holding Oakland without a point for nearly seven minutes, the Illini defense shut down the visitors late in the game to clinch an 11-point home victory.
No. 25 Illinois (2-0) returns to State Farm Center on Tuesday evening, when the Fighting Illini take on #5 Marquette. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT on FS1.
HIGHLIGHTS
PRESS CONFERENCE
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM NOTES
- Illinois has now won eight straight games at State Farm Center overall, and 10 straight at home vs. non-conference opponents
- The Orange and Blue outscored Oakland, 44-28, in the paint.
- Illinois assisted 13 times on 26 field goals.
- The Illini out-rebounded the Golden Grizzlies, 37-32.
- Attendance for tonight's game was a sellout of 15,544.
- This marks the 21st sellout of State Farm Center since the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted (beginning of 2021-22 season).
- Last non-conference sellout was against Bethune-Cookman (Dec. 29, 2022).
PLAYER NOTES
- Terrence Shannon Jr. recorded his 12th-consecutive game scoring double-digit points (dating back to Jan. 31) with a team-high 15
- Registered three steals; his last game with at least three steals was Feb.14, 2023, at Penn State
- Played every minute in the second half and was a +10 in 37 minutes of action
- Quincy Guerrier recorded his 14th-career double-double, and the first of his Illini career, with 13 points and 10 rebounds (team-high), shooting 5-for-9 from the field with one 3-pointer
- His last double-double came during his junior season at Oregon, March 10, 2022, vs. Colorado (25 points, 13 rebounds)
- It marked the Illini's first double-double and first double-digit rebounding game since RJ Melendez (10 points, 11 rebounds) vs. Minnesota (2/20/23)
- Was a +14 on 28 minutes of action
- Dain Dainja scored in double digits for the 13th time in his career
- The last time was March 9, 2023, vs. Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament (13 points)
- Was a +14 in 19 minutes on the floor
- Ty Rodgers turned in his third-career game scoring in double figures with 14 points, his first since March 2, 2023 vs. Michigan.
QUOTES
Opening statement:
"We get a lot of blessings in life. We are all sitting here because of a basketball game. I would be remiss because there was something that happened yesterday that is a lot more important. Quincy did not mention it, but it was the birth of his daughter with his fiancée. Natalia Rose is her name, and the blessings in life of having a child are pretty special. He has been gone. He has been worrying about all of that, so I did want to make sure that I mentioned that because I think that is pretty damn cool. It is pretty special to be a dad. He was ecstatic. He was fired up to be back with the team, but know that the mom and daughter are healthy.
"I think we had 11 stops in a row until the last three. This is a game that I have stressed over, to be very honest with you. I know how good they are. I know how good a coach he is. That team is going to win a ton of games. They do an unbelievable job of controlling tempo with their zone, and then they run a set every trip.
"Maybe one of the best defensive performances by a perimeter player I have seen was Terrence Shannon tonight. Gohlke got up 18 threes at Ohio State. Especially after the start of the game, when he hit his first one, he had a hard time even getting a look. It takes a lot of mental focus to handle that because he is away from the ball a lot. He does not play on the ball.
"I thought the job Quincy did in the second half, defensively, was equally as impressive. There is no doubt that Townsend is a terrific player. They are a team a little bit in the mindset of Penn State last year in that they can really beat you from three, and yet probably the best player is Townsend. You have to pick your poison, which you want to do.
"It is hard to make enough twos. I thought all of our guys did a good job, but I thought Quincy and then I thought Ty Rodgers in that stretch in the second half, those guys were terrific on the defensive side. Dain was impactful as heck in the first half. Being able to get the ball in the paint, it was great to see him get going there.
"On a night when we did not make free throws, we did not make layups, we did not make dunks, and we did not make many threes, the flow and the disruption is everything our program is about. It was about finding a way to win a game when none of those things go our way. It was really ugly, and I love that. You wish you made a few, but we did not.
"You have to find a way to win ugly games, and tonight, we did that with an unbelievable defensive effort. We beat a good team. I was excited to pull away late. The last seven minutes were pretty good. Put this one in the W column, because that will help us with the NET, and it will help us with KenPom and all the analytics as we move on down the road. That was a good basketball team."
On his message to the team after the win:
"I was ecstatic. I have not slept very well because of them. We play these games for a reason. We have a few more coming up that are really considered mid-major programs. That is an old team. That is a veteran team. Nobody likes playing Oakland. They have a hard time scheduling games. Nobody likes playing them. You know you are going to be in for a dogfight. It is a different type of game because you are going to see a zone and you are going to see great offense. It is a great preparation game. I am happy that we won it really ugly. We have to figure out a way to have resilience, toughness, and not let bad offense or lack of offense affect our defense. I thought we did that today."
On the key to providing a spark off the bench:
"I am just doing what I can so we can get the dub. Every day, I try to come in with energy."
On what changed in the final nine minutes of the game:
"It was our defense. I think we had 11 straight defensive stops. We were just locking up on defense, playing better, communicating, and playing with tremendous energy. I think that was the reason why we got it done."
On what he has learned about the team through two games this season:
"Our defense is going to be a big key for us to win games. We had to find a way to win the game without making shots. Defense is going to be a big key for us going forward in the season. That should be our identity, and we just have to keep working."
On getting the ball to Dainja in the paint:
"We just have to feed him. Sometimes we missed him, but it was a focal point to get it to Dain. We drew up plays to get it to him and let him go to work. He is a really good player in the post. I feel like he is one of the best bigs in the country. We are going to need him in the long run."
On his t-shirts (he wore a Coach Underwood shirt on Monday and a Johnny Newton shirt tonight):
"My friend, she is from Chicago, she has her own clothing brand, and she designed a couple of shirts for me. Obviously, my boy Johnny, we looked like him today, actually. She has been really good helping me out with designs and stuff."
