Terrence Shannon Jr. is one of the biggest national stories in not just college basketball, but sports as a whole right now. Charged with rape in the state of Kansas, this Illini basketball team’s leading scorer and overall best player was suspended indefinitely by the school.
However, he filed a temporary restraining order against the University, and the judge ruled in his favor, granting him immediate eligibility.
No. 10 Illinois Fighting Illini at Northwestern Wildcats FYIs
Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. CT on BTN and ESPN 1000 WMVP.
Spread: Illini basketball -3.5
Boo Buie the NU G.O.A.T. go here
Northwestern hoops Mt. Rushmore go here
What is Illini Booty Ball? go here
Terrence Shannon Felony Case Coverage: here here here here
He checked in yesterday, just 2:24 into the home win over Rutgers, and he ended up scored 16 points and dishing out four assists in his return. It feels weird to say that someone who filed a restraining order against the University of Illinois is also leading their men’s basketball team out of the tunnel/is the public face of the program at the same time.
That’s legalese for you!
Of course, there are the moral and ethical questions of all this too, and if you’re an Illini basketball fan, you have every right to feel ambivalent/conflicted/weird/icky and everything else, all at the same time.
In some ways, at least from an optics stand point, this situation is somewhat similar to Brandon Miller and Alabama last season- even though comparing the two alleged crimes would be apples to oranges.
We kind of covered this enough already, in the four links that you see above (so go there to dive in more on this), so we’ll shift to basketball only mode now for the rest of this preview.
No. 10 Illini Basketball (14-4, 5-2 B1G) Preview
If Shannon starts here, and most likely he will, then Luke Goode Jr. goes back to the bench. Having the All-American candidate back in the lineup/playing major minutes affects everybody on this Illini basketball team, with the role of Justin Harmon expected to decrease (as it very much increased while TSJ was away for six games).
Marcus Domask will still very much be a major part of the team, but with Shannon back, he won’t have to shoot and score as much. And of course, if you’re not familiar with the concept of Booty Ball, where you post up with your guards, then watch this game and learn.
This venue is always a tough out for the Illini basketball program, as the Wildcats always treat contests against Illinois like its their Super Bowl.
Northwestern Wildcats (13-5, 4-3 B1G) Preview
One last thing about TSJ, everywhere he goes for road games now, the opposing crowd will hammer him. This is especially true of the rival student sections, and the NU Wildside will get the first cracks at this. The Cats head into this one looking to avenge a major thumping earlier this month, 96-66, in Champaign. This one should be significantly closer, as NU beat Illinois pretty solidly at home last season.
Northwestern has created a very solid atmosphere this season in their gym, and that has been intimidating to visiting opposition. ,Much more so than in recent years.
However, this game will no doubt be 60%-40% Illini basketball fans, or at least 50-50.
NU has two wins this season (both of which came at home) that are aging very well in Purdue and Dayton. The Michigan State W could do the same over the course of the remaining season. It would be a substantial upset if Northwestern were to win here, but if they do…it would obviously be a major get for their NCAA Tournament resume.
Prediction: Illinois 77, Northwestern 71
This one should be reasonably tight, wire to wire.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.