No. 24 Illinois Opens Big Ten Play With Dominant Road Win Over Rutgers

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 24 Illinois opened Big Ten play with a commanding 76-58 road win over Rutgers at Jersey Mike's Arena on Saturday evening.

The Fighting Illini dominated the glass, grabbing 55 rebounds, their fourth straight game with at least 50 boards. The Orange and Blue got 19 offensive rebounds and registered 14 second-chance points, and they finished with a +28 rebounding margin on the glass.

Terrence Shannon Jr. recorded his first double-double of the season, and his third as an Illini, with 23 points and 10 rebounds, both of which were game-high marks. Shannon also dished out three assists and amassed two blocks.

Making his comeback following a three-game absence due to injury, Coleman Hawkins returned to the starting lineup and registered six points and eight rebounds. Making his presence felt on the defensive end all game, Hawkins also grabbed a steal.

Marcus Domask hit double figures for the second time this season, finishing with 15 points and seven rebounds.

Luke Goode knocked down two 3-pointers and ended his outing with nine points, three rebounds, and three assists.

Ty Rodgers notched five points, six rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal. Quincy Guerrier and Justin Harmon totaled seven points apiece, while Dain Dainja tallied four points and four boards.

The Fighting Illini defense played a big role in the 18-point road victory, as they held the Scarlet Knights to 33% shooting from the field.

The Scarlet Knights led for 15 seconds early in the frame before the Fighting Illini used a 14-0 run to take a double-digit lead just over five minutes into the contest. Guerrier tallied seven points, including his second 3-pointer of the season, and Domask accounted for five points during that stretch.

Illinois established a defensive intensity from the jump, holding Rutgers without a field goal for nearly six-and-a-half minutes to begin the game. 

Knocking down four of their first eight 3-point attempts, the Illini built their lead to 16 points with just over 11 minutes to play in the opening half, with four different players knocking down a trey. After the Scarlet Knights cut their deficit to 11, back-to-back makes from Dainja forced Rutgers to call its second timeout of the game with eight minutes to play in the frame and the Illini leading, 30-15.

Rutgers began to battle back, though Shannon took over down the stretch on the offensive end, registering eight of Illinois' final nine points of the first half as the Illini went into the locker room with a 41-36 advantage.

The Orange and Blue shot 49% from the field in the first half, as Shannon led the way with 12 points and eight rebounds, both of which were game-highs at the break.

Picking up right where they left off, the Illini turned defense into offense early in the second half. A Shannon block led to a Domask bucket before Ty Rodgers made a steal and threw down a dunk to extend their lead to nine points within the first two minutes of the frame.

The Illini pushed their edge back to double digits four minutes later before the Orange and Blue truly took over. An 18-2 run, which included three triples from Shannon, brought Illinois' advantage to a game-high 23 points with eight minutes to play. The Illini defense was a significant factor during that stretch, as they held the Scarlet Knights without a field goal for over six minutes.

A 4-0 Illini run over a 32-second stretch late in the second half ended a Rutgers scoring stretch, and Illinois held the Scarlet Knights without a field goal for the final two minutes of play to close out the win.

No. 24 Illinois (6-1, 1-0 B1G) will remain on the East Coast for its next game, taking on No. 13 Florida Atlantic on Tuesday in the Jimmy V Classic. Taking place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the contest will tip off at 5:30 p.m. CT and air on ESPN.

Highlights

Press Conference

Postgame Notes

Player Notes

• Terrence Shannon Jr. led the Fighting Illini with game highs of 23 points and 10 rebounds, while dishing out 3 assists (all in the first half) and recording 2 blocks.
  • The 23-point, 10-rebound effort marks the third double-double of Shannon's Illini career and his first of the season.
  • It is the first 20+-point, 10+-rebound double-double for the Illiini since Shannon also did it with 25 points and 11 boards at Nebraska on Jan. 10, 2023
  • It marks Shannon's fourth 20-point game of the season and the 15th of his career as an Illini.
  • Shannon has now led the Illini in scoring in six consecutive games, and he has reached double figures in 17 straight contests dating back to Jan. 31, 2023
• Marcus Domask tallied 15 points and 7 rebounds in a season-high 36 minutes of action.
  • Domask's totals of 15 points and 7 rebounds are both the second-best marks of the season for the grad transfer.
  • He also dished out two assists, his fourth game of the year with multiple assists.  
• Ty Rodgers tied for the team lead with 3 assists, his fifth consecutive game with multiple assists. 
• Luke Goode tallied 9 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and tied for the team lead with a career-high 3 assists.
  • Goode has knocked down multiple 3-pointers in six of seven games this season.  
• Coleman Hawkins posted 6 points and 8 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup for the Illini after missing the previous three games due to injury.

Team Notes

• With Saturday's win over Rutgers, Illinois improved to 56-25 in Big Ten play since the start of the 2019-20 season, the best record in the conference over that period.
• The Illini have won two straight in the series vs. Rutgers, improved to 12-4 overall vs. the Scarlet Knights, and snapped a 3-game losing streak at Jersey Mike's Arena.
  • Brad Underwood is now 8-3 in his career vs. Rutgers and earns his second win in Piscataway. 
• Illinois improves to 70-49 all-time in Big Ten openers, and 25-31 when opening league play on the road.
  • The road win to start Big Ten play is Illinois' first since winning at Iowa on Dec. 29, 2010.   
• Illinois held Rutgers to just 20 field goals, tied for a season-low for an Illini opponent (Eastern Illinois).
  • Illinois did not allow Rutgers to connect on their first field goal until the 13:31 mark of the first half. 
  • The Illini held Rutgers to 0-7 from the field to start the game.
• The 76-58 victory marked the Illini's largest margin of victory in a road game in the series vs. Rutgers.
  • Illinois held Rutgers to its fewest points this season, and its lowest offensive output since March 5, 2023 (53 vs. Northwestern)
  • Rutgers is the fourth opponent that the Illini have held under 60 points through seven games this season. 
• The Illini handed Rutgers their first home loss of the season (5-0 heading into the game).
• The Illini shot 45.5% (30-66), the best mark by a Rutgers opponent this season, surpassing Princeton's 43.3% (26-60) in RU's season-opening loss. 
  • Rutgers entered the game second in the Big Ten (behind Illinois) in opponent field goal, holding opponents to just 34.6% on the season.
• Illinois grabbed 55 rebounds, the team's most in a Big Ten game since March 8, 1995, when they registered 61 against Northwestern
  • The Fighting Illini's +28 rebounding margin is also their best in conference play since March 8, 1995, when they registered +34 (61-27) against Northwestern.
  • Illinois has recorded four straight games with 50+ rebounds, the program's longest such streak since at least 1979-80.

Quotes

Head coach Brad Underwood

Opening statement:

"I have as much respect for (Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell) as I do for anybody in college basketball and the job he does. This venue is obviously one of the best in America. 

"We didn't win this game today; we won it with our preparation early in the week. We'd had a long time off since our last game. It gave us an opportunity to get Coleman back and in practice, but we had a great week of prep. I was very focused on the rebounding side of things. I was very focused on our offensive execution. We added a few things, and then our saying, 'defense travels; toughness travels.' 

"We knew they would make a run, but to hold a team to 33% when we're on the road is something I feel really, really good about. To dominate the glass and double them up on the glass is very unique.

"I thought Coleman was great defensively. I thought he did a great job on (Rutgers' Clifford Omoruyi), and then offensively, he just spaces the floor. I thought Marcus Domask and his floor game and his ability to score on post-ups was elite. Obviously, Terrence showed why he's one of the best players in the country.

"All in all, a great road win. Those are like gold in this league. I'm excited to get the first one out of the way, and we've got 19 more."

On the team's +28 rebounding margin and overall dominance on the glass:

"I think it's an area that we've always been good at. I've been really upset with my team because of our lack of offensive rebounding. We've been a top team in our league and a top team in the country in terms of offensive rebounding over the years. 

"To win games on the road, you have to offensive rebound. We have to find some easy baskets. We weren't finding enough easy baskets. Early, we were really effective on the glass, and we're doing it from all five spots, so it was a point of emphasis. I'm glad it sunk in because we needed all of that today to win."