CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Terrence Shannon Jr. shot 11 of 15 from the field for 31 points to lead No. 14 Illinois men’s basketball past Michigan 97-68 on Tuesday.
Coleman Hawkins had 17 points and five assists for the Illini (18-6, 9-4 Big Ten), Marcus Domask had 13 points and Quincy Guerrier had 10 points and seven rebounds in a game where most of Illinois’ starters were on the bench for the final 9:29.
Terrance Williams III had 17 points, while Tarris Reed Jr. and Olivier Nkamhoua had 13 points each for the Wolverines (8-17, 3-11), who have lost 12 of 14 and are in last place in the Big Ten.
They’ve lost eight straight games to the Illini.
Shannon has scored 20 or more points in 10 games this season despite missing six games with a suspension following his arrest related to a rape charge in Kansas, and he’s scored in double figures for 28 consecutive games dating to Jan. 31, 2023.
Illinois led 47-29 at halftime led by Shannon with 19 points. He made four straight 3-pointers in the final 3:56 as Illinois went on a 16-2 run to end the half.
The victory kept Illinois all alone in second place in the Big Ten, two games behind No. 2 Purdue (11-2). Each team has seven conference games remaining.
Big picture
Michigan: The Wolverines have gotten off to terrible starts in their last two games. They fell behind Nebraska by 20 points at halftime of their 79-59 loss Saturday. They stayed within striking distance of Illinois for most of the first half, but headed to the locker room at halftime down by 18.
Illinois: After back-to-back games of not protecting late leads, the Illini were too far in front of Michigan down the stretch to worry about that happening again.
Up next
Michigan: At home Saturday night against Michigan State.
Illinois: At Maryland on Saturday.