CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Scoring the final eight points of the contest, No. 10 Illinois fended off Indiana, 70-62, in front of an Orange and Blue-striped, sold-outState Farm Center crowd on Saturday afternoon.
Four Fighting Illini scorers finished in double figures, while nine Orange and Blue players contributing offensivelyin the eight-point home victory as Illinois returned to the win column.
Marcus Domask registered his second double-double of the season, pouring in a team-high 16 points and 10 rebounds. Securing his 11th consecutive outing in double figures, Domask grabbed a defensive board with eight seconds to play to reach the double-double mark. He also added a team-high four assists and one steal.
Luke Goode hit three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points for his fifth double-digit scoring effort of the season. Goode tallied multiple triples for a 12th time this season, while also snaggingthree rebounds.
Coleman Hawkins ended his day with 11 points, his fourth consecutive outing with double-digit points. Hawkins amassed two blocks and two steals for the second straight game, and he has now notched at least one steal in 14 games in a row. He also grabbed seven rebounds, including four on the offensive glass.
Ty Rodgers did a little bit of everything in the victory, tallying eight points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and one steal.
Terrence Shannon Jr. hit double figures for the 24th game in a row, recording 10 of his 12 points in the second half, including six points from the free-throw line in the final 63 seconds of action.Justin Harmon, recording a team-high +24 in the plus/minus, added five points and four rebounds.
Illinois held Indiana without a 3-point field goal, while the Illini also won the rebounding margin, 42-35. Taking advantage of 14 offensive rebounds, the Orange and Blue accumulated 13 second-chance points. The Illinois bench outscored the Indiana reserves, 21-2.
The Hoosiers accounted for the first five points of the afternoon, though Hawkins and Rodgers each recorded a block within the opening two minutes of action. Hawkins' second swat of the day led to a layup on the other end to get the Illini offense going.
With Indiana holding an eight-point edge, Illinois chipped away at its deficit with a 5-0 run, which featured a Dain Dainja dunk and a Domask 3-pointer for the Illini's first connection of the day from deep.
After the visitors retook an eight-point lead, the Orange and Blue used an 11-4 scoring stretch to cut their deficit to a single point. Rodgers scored the first four points of that run before a Domask and-1 and a Hawkins triple forced the Hoosiers to take a timeout with just under five minutes to play in the opening half.
Goode's first 3-pointer of the afternoon evened the game at 26 with three-and-a-half minutes left on the clock. The Hoosiers briefly retook the lead before a Rodgers converted an and-1 layup to give the Illini their first lead with three minutes remaining before halftime.
Triples from Goode and Harmon sparked a 9-0 Illini run, which turned a one-point deficit into an eight-point advantage, giving Illinois itslargest lead of the first half.
Indiana recorded the final four points of the frame, sending Illinois into the break with a 38-34 edge. The Illini knocked down 11 of their final 17 field-goal attempts of the first half, while Domask and Rodgers each tallied eight points prior to halftime. The Illini defense stepped up its intensity over the course of the first half, racking up four steals and four blocks through the opening 20 minutes.
Though Illinois extended their advantage to six points early in the second half, the Hoosiers took a seven-point edge with slightly less than 13 minutes left in the contest. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn provided a spark off the bench for the Illini, though, as the freshman got his 3-point attempt to rattle through the net to cut into the Orange and Blue's deficit.
Gibbs-Lawhorn's trey began a 9-0 Illinois scoring streak, which turned a seven-point deficit into a two-point Illini lead, 51-49, with nine minutes to play. Hawkins rounded out the run with a putback effort on an offensive rebound.
Holding the Hoosiers without a field goal for nearly four minutes, the Illini saw their lead grow to five points, 57-52, via Goode's third 3-pointer of the day.
Two Shannon free throws put the Illini in front, 64-62, with 1:03 remaining. After the Illini held the Hoosiers without a point on the visitors' next trip down the court, Harmon got his floater to fallto extend Illinois' advantage to 66-62 with 31 seconds to play.
Shannon was perfect from the line down the stretch, hitting four more key free throwsin the final 19 seconds to clinch the victory.
No. 10 Illinois hits the road for its next contest, traveling to take on Ohio State on Tuesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on Peaco*ck from Value City Arena in Columbus.
HIGHLIGHTS
PRESS CONFERENCE
POSTGAME NOTES
PLAYER NOTES
- Marcus Domask scored a team-high 16 points, secured 10 rebounds and dished out four assists.
- Recorded his second double-double of the season.
- Has scored in double figures in 11-straight games.
- His 10 rebounds set a new season-high mark.
- Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds.
- Has scored in double figures in all 14 games this season.
- Has reached double-figures scoring in 24-straight contests dating back to Jan. 31, 2023.
- Shannon eclipsed 500 rebounds for his collegiate career on Saturday.
- Has 204 rebounds in two seasons at Illinois after collecting 299 boards in three seasons at Texas Tech.
- Coleman Hawkins scored 11 points and added seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
- Has scored in double figures in four-straight games.
- Recorded at least one block and one steal for the 10th time in his last 11 games.
- Has recorded at least one steal in 14-straight games.
- Has multiple steals in 10 contests during that stretch.
- Has recorded at least one steal in 14-straight games.
- Luke Goode scored 11 points and added three rebounds.
- Went 3-for-8 from beyond the arc in today's game.
- Has multiple makes from deep in back-to-back contests and in four of his last five overall.
- Went 3-for-8 from beyond the arc in today's game.
TEAM NOTES
- Today's attendance was 15,544, the sixth sellout crowd of the season.
- Illinois is the winningest team in the Big Ten over the last four-plus seasons, with a record of 61-28 (.685) in league play since the start of the 2019-20 season.
- The Illini snapped a three-game losing streak to the Hoosiers with today's win.
- Illinois head coach Brad Underwood improves to 6-6 against Indiana in his career.
- The Illini forced the Hoosiers into going 0-for-9 from the 3-point line.
- It's the first time Illinois has allowed no 3-pointers in a game since Jan. 13, 2023, vs. Michigan State.
- The Illini are the first team to hold the Hoosiers without a 3-pointer since Jan. 24, 2010.
- Illinois out-rebounded Indiana 42-35 in the contest and held a 14-7 advantage on the offensive glass.
- The Illini have won the rebounding battle in four-straight games and in 16 of 20 overall.
- The Orange and Blue have secured at least 13 offensive boards in five-straight games.
- The Illini converted their 14 o-boards into 13 second-chance points.
- Illinois has outscored its opponents in that category in six-straight games and in 17 of 20 games this season.
- The Illini converted their 14 o-boards into 13 second-chance points.
- The Illini bench outscored their Hoosier counterparts, 21-2.
- The Illini made 17 free throws in the contest, their 13th straight game with at least 16 makes from the line.
- The Illini have had four players score in double-digits in 10 of the last 11 contests.
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