Illinois' Terrence Shannon Shines In First Game Back From Suspension In Win Vs Rutgers

For six games, the Illinois basketball team felt it was missing something.

They got it back Sunday with the return of leading scorer Terrence Shannon. He had 16 points in an 86-63 victory against Rutgers at State Farm Arena.

It was Shannon's first game since he was suspended Dec. 28 because of rape allegations. He was cleared to return after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction.

"Our team feels whole again," the Illini's Justin Harmon said. "We have our best player back."

Shannon had missed the Illini's past six games because of the incident. The Illini were 4-2 in those games. He only had two practices before returning to action. A preliminary hearing in the criminal case has been set for Feb. 23.

"You could tell he was tired at times," Underwood said. "He integrated in a nice way. He was pretty solid."

Shannon, who did not start, played 28 minutes in the victory against the Scarlet Knights. The fans showed support of him once he entered the game early in the first half.

"I thought he was fine. He was very solid," Underwood said of Shannon's performance. "He's had a couple days of practice. Integrated him back in a nice way. ... The integration process [we will] have to be a little bit patient with, but there's no doubt it's back to who we were, so to speak."

Illinois plays next against Northwestern Wednesday.

Illinois' Terrence Shannon Jr. Reinstated After Judge Grants Restraining Order

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