Illini Suffocate Syracuse, 73-44

By Jeff Mayfield

[November 29, 2022] 

The No. 16 ranked Illinois Fighting Illini suffocated the Syracuse Orange 73-44 last night at the State Farm Center. The Illini throttled the Orange by holding them to a stifling low 28% shooting for the night.

Illinois out-rebounded Syracuse 46-42 and forced them into 17 turnovers while only committing 7 of their own and only two in the first half. The Illini had an incredible 21 assists on 24 made baskets for the game!

Three Stars

#1 Coleman Hawkins

The crowd erupted when Hawkins came down with a late game rebound. Why? Because Coleman registered only the fifth triple double in Illini basketball history! That’s right. Hawkins finished the night with 25 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds. His passing and deft moves out of the high post and in the seam of their famous zone defense broke it down time after time. IF you don’t know why he was the #1 star, you’re not paying attention. Neither did Syracuse and it burned them badly.

#2 Jayden Epps

The LDN’s Greg Taylor and my son, Payne Mayfield, made this selection for the same reason. Epps made two huge 3-pointers when Illinois was struggling to do anything positive and his zingers from downtown flipped the game. We have to find a way to get him a lot more shots. Our freshmen are even more special than I dreamed they would be and Epps’ shooting is one of the many reasons why. Jayden was in double figures again with 11 points and was 3-for-6 from 3-point range.

#3 Terrance Shannon, Jr.

Or TSJ as the kids call him is one of several Illini battling the flu bug. Wish I struggled that much and still had these kinds of positive results…17 points with five 3-pointers and 7 rebounds. This guy just always seems to produce.

Honorable Mention

R.J. Melendez-Struggled in the first half with his shooting and foul trouble but came alive after intermission. He finished the contest with 15 points including going 7 of 8 from the foul line and also hauled down 6 rebounds.

Special Mention

Matthew Mayer-Kid can’t seem to catch a break as many shots have not fallen for him, but Coach Underwood says that his time will come. Coach called him a winner and just what this team needs. He had 5 points and 8 big rebounds.

All that led to a near 30-point blowout of a perineal power, though they’re too young and inexperienced to be that good this season. However, I do wonder if their coach, the legendary Jim Boeheim, would like to rescind his strong statement attributed to him recently. I seem to remember that he said the Big Ten was overrated and not very good. I believe the Illini cooked him up a nice post game dinner of a big plate of crow!
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again-there is no league anywhere on this planet tougher than the Big Ten…No way, no how!

This victory dropped Syracuse to 3-4 and made Illinois a sparkling 6-1. Next up for the Illini is a tough road tilt with the always pesky Maryland Terps to start the Big Ten season on Friday.

[By JEFF MAYFIELD]

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