Illinois Made All The Right Adjustments Since Terrence Shannon Returned From Suspension

Things looked pretty bleak when the Illinois Fighting Illini played their first road game without All-American guard Terrence Shannon.

On Jan. 5, the Illini faced Big Ten champion Purdue. How bad was it? The Illini found themselves down 20-4 in the first half.

"We went into a shock a little bit our first road game at Purdue without him," Illini coach Brad Underwood said. "There was a sense of swagger that [Shannon] gave us."

The Illini played six games without Shannon, who was suspended because of rape allegations. He was reinstated a few weeks later. The Illini have since gone 13-4 with him back in the lineup.

The Illini have won eight of their last nine, including the Big Ten tournament. They open play in the NCAA Tournament Thursday against Morehead State in the first round of the East Regional in Omaha.

"From that point on, I think we got better," Underwood said. "Since he's been back, him kind of fitting in, he knew that we were playing well. It's made us better along the way."

The Illini went 4-2 in Shannon's absence, allowing the rest of his team to contribute without him.

With him back, the Illini are now among the favorites in the tournaments. But they will have to get through one of the toughest regions. The East also includes defending champion UCONN, San Diego State, Florida Atlantic, Auburn and Iowa State.

"Terrence is really grateful to be back with us," Illini forward Quincy Guerrier said. "He's been tremendous for us. He's just ready to win. Everybody is just locked in."

Illinois Supporting Cast Benefited During Terrence Shannon Suspension

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Illini Now. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com