Illini Handle Colgate, 74-57

By Jeff Mayfield

[December 17, 2023] 

The Illinois Fighting Illini electrified the crowd in the first few minutes jetting out to a 14-0 lead and never looked back in their mostly impressive 74-57 victory over the Colgate Raiders Sunday afternoon at the State Farm Center. The Illini’s quick start was a bombardment of about everything they could throw at an opponent-3-point bombs, easy flushes, and free throw conversions which all led to Illinois’ 44-27 halftime lead.

For the game Illinois shot 42% from the field with a 35% percent showing from distance. But what was really impressive was the Illini’s 43-25 advantage in the rebounding battle and Illinois’ uncanny 20-of-22 makes from the free throw line good for 91%!

3 Stars

#1-Terrance Shannon, Jr.

You may fault me for not selecting one of the Illini’s highest point producers for our top award, so, let me explain. In the first half Colgate had no answer for TSJ-he just did whatever he wanted to do-finishing with 14 points but he passed up shots and could’ve had more. And as good as he was on offense-you should’ve seen him on defense.

I have a sneaky hunch that TSJ volunteered to guard Colgate’s leading scorer, Braedon Smith. How did that work out? Can you say TSJ was a glove? He held Smith to a 1-for-7 performance and 2 points-not till the first time out or for the half-but for the game! That is total suffocation! That is taking somebody completely out of the contest. That is disrupting another team so devastatingly that plans B, C, D, and E, have no chance to work. TSJ seems to be getting better every time out.

Shannon’s line for the day-14 points, 5 blocked shots [not a typo!], & his defensive work. This was an easy choice.

#2-Coleman Hawkins

Coleman got off to a quick and hot start. He finished the day leading all scorers with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals. Coleman was the guy not afraid to bang with Colgate’s plethora of bigs. And while they might not all be Big Ten caliber they were very physical and CH did not back down even once. He also got some tic tac calls that really should be put on a video thumb drive & sent to the home office and looked at. When new fans sitting around us asked to explain why he was called for those-we looked at each other in total bewilderment as we couldn’t even conceive what the stripes might have seen. It is good to see Coleman getting back in the groove as the schedule will get brutal the rest of the season.

#3-Quincy Guerrier/Marcus Domask

These guys brought totally different contributions to the table today which makes it even harder for opponents to devise ways for them to stop the Illini. So far this season we’ve seen physical man-to-man defense, a variety of presses, some different zones, and a gimmick or two=most of them haven’t worked. Quincy & Marcus are a big reason why.

Quincy flew out of the starting blocks today and brought a variety of weapons-15 points [with 2 3-pointers], 7 rebounds, and a 5-for-6 performance from the charity stripe! I would like to see him step it up on defense a bit especially on the help side, but Illinois is getting some outstanding production from him so far. Let’s hope he keeps it up.

And who doesn’t love what Marcus Domask is bringing nightly? I like his line too-15 points including 6-for-6 from the line and some outstanding booty ball drives to the basket. His smart, efficient play is like having one of our coaches out on the court at all times. He has made the Illini better in a variety of ways & so it was easy to slot him here.

I should also probably praise Dain Dainja, Ty Rodgers, and Luke Goode for their outstanding work on the glass and on the defensive end of the floor. However, by now you must know that in order for this team to be successful-it needs consistency. It needs to constantly be an epitome team where everybody makes every contribution they can possibly make, every rotation they are on the floor.

You could argue that it was not a good look when the Illini allowed the Raiders to get within 9 points late in the game but coming out of finals week, I’m sure the Illini were just trying to find their conditioning and I don’t think this game was ever in doubt. The victory takes Illinois’ record to 8-2. The Illini will try to solve the puzzle that is the Missouri Tigers Friday night in the Bragging Rights contest in St. Louis.

To all of our wonderful LDN readers - Merry Christmas!

[By JEFF MAYFIELD]

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