CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – In a game that featured 20 lead changes, 10 double-digit scorers, and 202 total points, No. 13 Illinois came out on the winning end of a back-and-forth battle, securing a 105-97 win over Minnesota at State Farm Center on Wednesday night.
The Fighting Illini shot 61.3% from the field and 45.5% from behind the arc en route to the eight-point home victory.
Terrence Shannon Jr. finished with a team-high 29 points, his 32nd contest in a row in double figures and his 13th outing this season with at least 20 points. Recording four 3-pointers, Shannon shot over 50% from both the field and from 3-point range for the fourth time this season. He amassed double-digit points in both halves, and he also totaled six rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
Marcus Domask missed just one shot in the second half, scoring 18 of his 22 points after the halftime intermission for his seventh outing with 20+ points. Domask went 66.7% from the field, his third-most efficient shooting performance of the campaign, while he went a perfect 5-for-5 from the stripe. He also accumulated seven rebounds and five assists.
Coleman Hawkins scored the first eight points of the night and did not slow down, registering back-to-back 20-point games for the first time this season. Hawkins made multiple 3-pointers, both of which came within the first two minutes of the night. He dished out three assists and hauled in two rebounds despite being in foul trouble for a majority of the second half.
Dain Dainja poured in 11 points off the bench, his first double-digit scoring tally in conference play this season. Dainja shot 80% from the field, went a perfect 3-for-3 from the free-throw line, and was a team-best +11 in the plus/minus. He also grabbed three of his six rebounds on the offensive glass, and he made one block.
Quincy Guerrier added 10 points, which included two 3-pointers, and all three of his boards came on the offensive end of the court.
The Illini's first eight points of the night came from Hawkins, who knocked down three of his first four attempts from the field within the first three minutes of action. The Illini used a 6-0 run shortly after to take an early five-point advantage, 12-7.
After the Golden Gophers battled back to tie the game, buckets from Guerrier and Shannon put the hosts back in front, 14-11, in a high-scoring first six minutes of play. Dainja then accounted for the Orange and Blue's next five points, which included an and-1 to end a 5-0 Minnesota run.
Four lead changes over a three-minute stretch highlighted a back-and-forth first half, though a 6-2 Illini run extended the home side's edge back to five points with under seven minutes remaining in the first half. Shannon's first 3-pointer of the night started that scoring stretch before a Hawkins and-1 finish rounded out the run.
The two sides traded baskets the rest of the frame, though Illinois went into the break with a 48-45 lead. Hawkins and Shannon both scored in double figures within the first 20 minutes of action, a stretch that included 14 lead changes.
After grabbing two offensive rebounds, Guerrier recorded the first points of the second half, extending Illinois' edge back to five points. The Golden Gophers battled back by piecing together a 9-2 run to put the visitors in front once again before 3-pointers from Shannon and Guerrier on consecutive Illini possessions gave the hosts a 60-56 lead.
Minnesota continued to chip away at its deficit before using a 7-2 scoring streak to take a 63-62 advantage, but Illinois did not trail for long. Shannon's fading jumper put the home side back in front before 3-pointers from Domask and Shannon closed out an 8-2 run for the Illini with 12 minutes to play. Shannon's five points during that stretch brought him over the 20-point mark for the 13th time this season and pushed the Illini edge back to five points.
A Golden Gopher 3-pointer cut Illinois' advantage down to two points, but Domask responded with a driving layup through contact. Following a defensive stop on the other end of the court, Dainja corralled an offensive board and made the second-effort dunk to bring the Orange and Blue's lead to 76-70, their largest lead at that point in the contest.
The Illini saw their advantage shrink to four points, but a Domask jumper and two free throws from Shannon carried the home side's edge up to eight points, 80-72, with just under nine minutes left on the clock.
After Minnesota cut its deficit back to four points, Illinois went on an 8-0 run to take its first double-digit lead of the night. A Domask and-1 highlighted the three-minute stretch, which gave the hosts a 91-79 edge with five minutes to play.
Dainja moved into double figures one minute later before Domask accounted for four straight points for the Orange and Blue, which brought the Illini past the century scoring mark. A dunk from Justin Harmon marked the end of the Golden Gophers' rally, and after leading by as many as 14, the Illini secured a crucial victory heading into the final three regular-season games of the season.
No. 13 Illinois (21-7, 12-5 B1G) makes the journey north for its next game, which is slated for Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. CT against Wisconsin (18-10, 10-7 B1G). The nationally televised showdown, which is also the Illini's penultimate conference road contest, will air on Big Ten Network from the Kohl Center in the lone regular-season meeting between the sides.
HIGHLIGHTS
PRESS CONFERENCE
POSTGAME NOTES
PLAYER NOTES
- Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 29 points on 9-of-17 shooting (4-of-8 3FG) with six rebounds.
- Became the 53rd 1,000-point scorer in program history, and only the fourth to do it in two seasons.
- Eclipsed 20 points for the 13th time this season.
- Recorded five or more rebounds for the eighth time this season.
- Has scored double figures in 32 consecutive games.
- Marcus Domask scored 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, along with seven rebounds and five assists.
- Seventh game of the season with 20+ points
- Grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
- 10th game dishing out five or more assists.
- Coleman Hawkins scored 20 points, shot 7-of-13 from the field, dished out three assists and grabbed two boards.
- Fifth 20+-point game of the season, seventh in his Illini career.
- First time scoring 20+ in back-to-back games this season after a career-high 30 Saturday vs. Iowa.
- 17th game of the season in double-figures scoring.
- Quincy Guerrier registered 10 points shooting 4-of-6 from the field and added three rebounds.
- 16th game with double-digit points.
- Shot 2-for-3 from 3-point range, his seventh game of the season with multiple treys.
- Dain Dainja scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting with six rebounds.
- Sixth game scoring 10 or more points this season.
- 10th game grabbing five or more boards.
- A perfect 3-of-3 on free throws for his season-best percentage (min. three attempts).
- Played 19 minutes, a season-high against a Big Ten opponent.
TEAM NOTES
- Illinois' bench outscored Minnesota, 20-3.
- Held Minnesota's bench to one shot and two rebounds.
- Illinois outscored Minnesota in the paint, 50-38.
- The Illini outrebounded the Gophers, 31-23, and 12-7 on the offensive glass
- Have outrebounded opponents in 21 of 28 games and are 18-3 when winning the battle of the boards.
- Illinois is the first NCAA Division-I team to win a game vs. an opponent that shot 60% overall and 70% from 3-point range since Wofford defeated Samford, 107-106 (OT), on Jan. 24, 2019.
- Illinois is the only power-conference team to win a game in which their opponent shot 60% FG/70% 3PT since at least 2010-11.
- The Illini surpassed the 100-point scoring mark in Big Ten play for the first time since Feb. 3, 2016, when Illinois scored 110 points in a triple-overtime win at Rutgers.
- Illinois reached the century scoring mark against a conference foe in regulation for the first time since Jan. 19, 1994, when the Illini tallied a 105-90 win over Iowa.
- Illinois' 105 points are its most scored in the 198-game series vs. Minnesota, surpassing the previous high of 100 set Feb. 19, 1966.
- The Illini's 105 points are their most in a game since scoring 106 against St. Francis (Pa.) on Dec. 18, 2021.
- Illinois had three 20-point scorers (Shannon, 29; Domask, 22; Hawkins, 20) in one game for the first time since Feb. 3, 2016, when Jalen Coleman-Lands (26), Malcolm Hill (32), and Maverick Morgan (20) all reached the 20-point mark in a 110-101 triple-overtime win at Rutgers.
- The Illini have scored at least 100 points in multiple games in the same season (105 vs. Minnesota, 104 vs. FDU) for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign (120 vs. Hampton, 117 vs. Lindenwood).
- Illinois' four turnovers are their fewest in a game since recording three on Jan. 17, 2017, at Purdue.
- The Illini's 72-67 win at Northwestern on Jan. 14, 2015, marked the last time Illinois recorded four turnovers or fewer in a victory (three TO at NU).
.
