CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 23 Illinois took care of business on Sunday night at State Farm Center, flying past Southern, 88-60, for its second win in three days.
 Dominating the lane from start to finish, the Fighting Illini recorded 62 points in the paint, their most since 2019. The Orange and Blue scored a season-high 88 points, shooting a season-best 57.1% from the field.
Terrence Shannon Jr. marked his third straight game with at least 20 points with a season-high 24, while he also tallied a team-high four assists, one block, and one steal.
Dain Dainja scored all of his 12 points in the first half, 10 of which came within the first six minutes of the game. Dainja also grabbed four rebounds.
Quincy Guerrier also finished in double figures with 10 points, his second outing in double digits this season. He also registered six rebounds.
Luke Goode knocked down three 3-pointers, all of which came in the second half, for his third straight game with at least three treys. Goode also finished with seven rebounds.
Justin Harmon ended his night with a season-high nine points, and both of his rebounds came on the offensive glass.
Amani Hansberry amassed a career-high eight points, and he made his presence felt in the paint all night with seven rebounds and a team-high two steals.
The Illini out-rebounded the Jaguars, 50-17, led by nine boards from Marcus Domask. Illinois scored 18 points off its 15 offensive rebounds, and they registered 18 assists on 36 field goals.
The Illini took an early 10-6 advantage after Dainja accounted for the team's first eight points of the night. Dainja ultimately climbed into double digits within the first six minutes of play, as the Illini center and Guerrier combined for the team's first 14 points.
With the Orange and Blue ahead by four halfway through the opening period following back-to-back makes from Niccolo Moretti, Illinois took over. The Illini used a 17-0 run over a five-minute stretch late in the frame to take a 45-24 lead. Shannon accounted for 11 straight points during that time, including two and-1 buckets, and five consecutive makes helped extend the home side's edge.
Illinois eventually took a 45-27 advantage into the break. Shannon led all scorers with 17 first-half points, while Dainja tallied 12 points in his 11 minutes of first-half action. All 45 points came either in the paint (36) or from the free-throw line (9), while the Illini forced nine turnovers and led the rebounding margin, 26-9, through 20 minutes of action
Guerrier opened the second half with an emphatic dunk, which set the tone for the rest of the period. The Illini began the frame with a 10-1 run over the span of five minutes, a stretch that ended with a Justin Harmon triple and saw the hosts' lead grow to 27.
Illinois held Southern without a field goal for the first seven minutes of the half, as the Orange and Blue's run to begin the half climbed to 14-2. After the Jaguars went on a 7-0 run to cut into their 30-point deficit, back-to-back Goode triples put the Illini ahead, 65-36, with just over 10 minutes to play and jump-started a 10-0 Illinois run.
Five minutes later, buckets from Hansberry and Harmon fueled a 6-0 run in 99 seconds of action, with Harmon's bucket bringing him to a season-high nine points and Hansberry's baskets pushing his output to a career-high eight points.
With the Illini's lead climbing as high as 34 points, Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn's acrobatic layup late in the game capped off a 28-point home win and moved the Illini's record to 4-1 on the season.
Illinois will return to State Farm Center on Friday to take on Western Illinois to close out its six-game homestand. The contest is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.
Highlights
Press Conference
Postgame Notes
PLAYER NOTES
- Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 24 points and had three rebounds and four assists.
- Shot 8-for-13 from the floor and 7-for-9 at the free-throw line.
- Set a new season-high mark in points.
- Has three straight 20-point games.
- Longest such streak of his collegiate career.
- Has now scored at least 15 points in each of his first five games of the season.
- Has scored in double figures in each of his last 15 games, a streak that began Jan. 31, 2023.
- Dain Dainja scored 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting and grabbed four rebounds.
- Has back-to-back double-digit scoring efforts and has also done so in three of his last four.
- Scored 10 of the team's first 14 points to begin the game.
- Quincy Guerrier scored 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting and added six rebounds and two assists.
- Second game this season scoring in double figures.
- Has at least five rebounds in four straight games.
- Luke Goode scored nine points, knocking down three 3-pointers.
- Has made at least three 3-pointers in four of five games this season.
- Has made at least three in three straight games.
- Amani Hansberry scored eight points and secured seven rebounds.
- Notched a new career-high points.
- Has two games this season with at least seven rebounds.
- Was a +19 in 22 minutes of action.
- Justin Harmon scored nine points, going 4-for-7 from the floor.
- His points set a new career-best in an Illini uniform.
- Niccolo Morreti scored four points and added three rebounds and three assists.
- Has three assists in two of three games he's played this season.
- Has three rebounds in two of three games this season.
- Was a +20 in 13 minutes of action.
TEAM NOTES
- Illinois held a 62-28 advantage in points in the paint.
- The Illini scored 36 of their 45 first-half points in the paint.
- Scored the remaining nine points from the free-throw line.
- Most points scored in the paint since also scoring 62 on Nov. 23, 2019, vs. Hampton.
- The Orange and Blue out-rebounded Southern, 50-17.
- The Illini have won the rebound battle in all five contests this season.
- Ten of the 12 Illini who saw the floor grabbed at least one board.
- Five had at least five rebounds.
- The +33 rebound margin is the largest since having a +45 advantage on Nov. 26, 2020, vs. Chicago State.
- Illinois scored 18 second-chance points on 15 offensive rebounds.
- Have grabbed at least 50 rebounds three times this season.
- Most in a single season since having four such games during the 2021-22 campaign.
- The Illini have totaled 110 rebounds in the last two games, the most in a two-game span since grabbing 117 from Nov. 25-26, 2020.
- The Illini scored 18 points off of 13 Jaguar turnovers.
- Illinois dished out a season-high 18 assists on 36 field goals.
- Illinois has outscored its last two opponents, 92-52, in the second half of the last two games.
- Ten different Illini scored in the contest.
- First time since Jan. 16, 2023, at Minnesota, where Illinois also had 10 different scorers.
- Illinois scored at least 40 points in both halves of a contest since Feb. 14, 2023, at Penn State.
- Registered 45 in the first half and 43 in the second half.
- First time achieving this mark at home since Nov. 25, 2022, vs. Lindenwood.
Quotes
Opening statement:
"50-17 on the glass, 110 rebounds in the last two, and 60%, basically, field-goal percentage will probably lead to some pretty good things. I was really pleased with that group at the end of the first half. We finally found a rhythm where we didn't foul and got some stops, got out and running. I think we had three freshmen on the court for a good piece of that, which is always really positive and good to see.Â
"I thought Nico was a catalyst in that stretch. I thought Dravyn, defensively, was great. Terrence was Terrence. He's literally the best defender in college basketball, and he did that again tonight.Â
"Games get hard when you're up 30. I wish we would have finished better. I thought we turned it over a little bit. Again, this team has won at UNLV, and this team has played some folks awfully close. I thought we handled our business, and on to the next."
On Niccolo Moretti:
"He plays with speed. Very few guys can play with speed and play with a thought process that is slow. He does that very, very well. Guys love playing with him because he's highly intelligent in terms of his feel. He delivers the ball on time, to the right place.Â
"He's got great, great vision. In terms of understanding, he understands where our guys are, but it's where the defense is. I was really proud of him because of his defense. That's the area that he has been challenged the most, but I thought defensively tonight, he was every bit as good as he was offensively."
On Luke Goode:
"I need to get him more shots. I want him to shoot every shot he's open. He's a terrific shooter. He's one of the best shooters not just in this league, but in the country. He's a guy who plays great in space. He's got a great shot fake and a sidestep three that he gets off and can make.Â
"He's a difference maker. There's no doubt about that. We need to keep him shooting the ball well. Then, we've got to keep finding opportunities for him to get shots off."
On finding his role through the first five games of the season:
"I'm creating my role here. Coach Brad, all he tells me to do is rim run, seal off, and just play hard and leave it all out there on the floor. I'm trying to find my role, not trying to do too much, and playing within the offense and the defense. I want to do what I can for my teammates."
On growing more comfortable with five games now under his belt:
"The game has slowed down for me. When I get the ball in the middle, I'm not rushed. I take my time, look for reads, look for my shot. Defensively, playing the pick-and-roll, rotating, talking. I'm getting a grasp on everything."
On the team's fast start:
"I feel like we came out better. Dain got going. During the first media timeout, I told him to go get dirty. He's a really good player, a real key for us. I'm glad he got going and scored the basketball for us today."
