Illinois roasted Missouri in its annual rivalry game on Friday, 97-73, and Terrance Shannon went off for 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Terrance Shannon has made a case that he’s the second best player in the country. He’s certainly the most dominating guard in the country, a two-way force, who has always been a bully with the ball, but has expanded his game to work going right on the drive and he’s knocking down three-pointers.
It has left Illinois with a 9-2 record with one more throw away win before heading into the heart of its Big Ten schedule. Illinois is 1-0 in the Big Ten, giving itself a one game lead over the favorite Purdue Boilermakers win they went into Rutgers and won 76-58.
It has left Illinois fans and the media to start thinking that Illinois isn’t just a surprise story in the Big Ten, but co-favorites and potential challengers to Purdue who won the Big Ten by three games last season and returns Zach Edey and most of its production from last year.
Illinois’ start to the season certainly has its head coach, Brad Underwood, believing in his team.
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It’s been a pleasant start for Illinois in a basketball conference thirsting for any kind of positivity on the other side of Purdue. The Big Ten Conference came into the season with lowered ambitions, but with the early season collapse of Michigan State before the Spartans before a Baylor upset sparked life back into Tom Izzo’s team, Michigan’s swallowing itself whole, and a whole slew of other middling Big Ten teams, it looked like the Big Ten might not even have a second good team in the conference.
Illinois appears to have taken that role, and if the recent hype is to be believed, hopped itself into the National Title picture and a top-10 team in the nation.
Illinois’ resume though lacks grandeur in its winds. It did defeat Kenpom’s 13th ranked Florida Atlantic Owls on a neutral floor at the start of December and has a road win against Rutgers to go with its recent win against rival Missouri. But neither Rutgers or Missouri stand as a top-75 team in Kenpom. Leaving Florida Atlantic as Illinois’ only notable victory on the season.
Common opponents
Illinois has taken on the 124th most difficult schedule in the nation according to Kenpom. Purdue has played the 8th.
Despite that ranking difference, the two teams have shared two marquee match-ups against college basketball top-ten teams, Tennessee and Marquette. Purdue won both of its match ups with those two teams as part of the Maui Invitational, 71-67 against Tennessee, and 78-75 against Marquette.
Illinois lost both of its match ups, losing to Marquette at home 71-64, and Tennessee 86-79 on the road.
While there’s no great observation to draw on with common opponents – neither of Illinois’ games were on neutral floors for instance like both of Purdue’s game which make comparing the outcomes and energies of the game a little difficult. It does speak to the overall different spots that the two teams will come from when they do meet up – and oh, by the way, we won’t have to wait long.
Purdue will go into Mackey Arena on January 5th.
The return game in Illinois will be on March 5th, the second to last game of the regular season for both teams.
Illinois and Purdue both returned potential NBA players and certain player of the year candidates in Terrance Shannon and Zach Edey. Both have lived up to and surpassed their billing to start the year. They would possible be one and two in the voting if it were to end today.
But that does a disservice to the on court dominance of Zach Edey. Edey doesn’t get the acclaim as a two-way player because he’s a big man while Shannon is accurately touted as one of the best two-way players in the country.
But Shannon’s complete game doesn’t get close to the all-around brilliance and gravity that Edey creates and sustains for thirty plus minutes a night as part of a team that has the absolute best resume in the sport. Edey has shined, night in and night out, against Alabama, Xavier, Tennessee, Marquette, Gonzaga, and the recently ranked #1 Arizona.
Shannon has been great for a team that has just one win against a top-75 team on Kenpom.
Is Shannon one of the best players in college basketball? Absolutely. Is he a challenge to Zach Edey for player of the year? Absolutely not. No one is. That’s not a disparaging comment towards Shannon. It’s an acknowledge of the historic nature of Zach Edey’s reign.
And it’s much the same between Illinois and Purdue as a team. While Illinois has been a pleasant surprise, and has a ceiling that’s probably higher than every other team in the Big Ten, it’s not Purdue. It doesn’t boast an incredible resume, and has plenty of holes.
Coleman Hawkins remains an aloof, tall, second option who isn’t scoring in double-figures but tries to take over games like he is.
Illinois missed on grabbing the guard they wanted running the show on the off season and while Marcus Domask has been okay, he’s shooting below 20% on a lot of three-point attempts while having a turnover rate 5% higher than his assist rate.
Illinois is still Illinois – terrifyingly long at all positions, a whiz in transition, and a team that is capable of beating anyone on any night, but it’s also still Illinois. A team that lacks a true play maker, that’s shooting is improved with Shannon and Goode, but lacks everywhere else. It’s a team that lacks a true big man that’s capable of playing in big moments.
Illinois has done enough to prove it’s a good team, and it has a one game lead on Purdue in the Big Ten standings one game into the conference schedule.
But it hasn’t come close to making itself known as a contender.
That can all change on January 5th, but for now, the Big Ten still runs through West Lafayette.
