CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Madison Square Garden is known as the mecca of basketball: there is a lot of rich tradition, and some of the best players and performances of the world have taken place there.
For the second straight year, the Fighting Illini were invited to participate in the Jimmy V Classic. Last year Illinois defeated the second-ranked Texas Longhorns 85-78 in overtime.
Illinois was invited back this year, but it took on last year's Final Four participant, the Florida Atlantic Owls, who entered the game ranked 11th in the county, while the Illini came in at number 20.
Back-to-back years on national TV, Illinois beat one of the nation's best teams. But this one was different–for the first time in the Jimmy V Classic, two players from the same team scored over 30 points in the Fighting Illini's 98-89 victory over FAU. Illinois, led by a pair of senior transfers, Terrence Shannon Jr. from Texas Tech and Marcus Domask from Southern Illinois, each finished with career highs of 33 points.
Illinois Head Coach Brad Underwood said, "Yeah, we'll take 25 of 35 every night. Those guys were sensational. It was a slugfest. It was such a weird game. It's amazing how we come out of the Rutgers game, and every game has a different identity. We needed every one of them. We shot 63 percent for the game, and we needed all of that because they're so efficient offensively. It just didn't seem like we could get a stop, we put them on the foul line, and they don't miss free throws. Marcus and Terrence were special tonight."
Last year, Illinois did not capitalize on the marquee victory; Illinois has another high-profile opponent on Saturday when it will invade the Tennessee Volunteers, another ranked foe, just three spots ahead of Illinois.
On paper, games are not won, although this appears to be Underwood's best team in his tenure. He wanted to get old, and he did that. Illinois is one of the oldest teams in college basketball, which showed in the exhibition win against Kansas, a victory at Rutgers last Saturday, and Tuesday's win against FAU. Every time the Scarlet Knights and Owls made a run at Illinois, the Illini had an answer.
Underwood had said previously, "We want to advance in March, being older helps. I think we addressed our needs this year, we have an older group that's been around, they have played in the big games, and nothing appears to faze this group."
The Illini lit up the scoreboard against Rutgers and FAU. The prolific scoring has been aided by senior Coleman Hawkins, who continues to do all the little things that oftentimes go unnoticed: the big offensive rebound late for a three-point field goal for Shannon, or the biggest three-pointer late in the game.
Rodney Hawkins, the father of Coleman, told WQAD Sports, "Coleman has been injured for a while, but he's going to be fine. We like what we're hearing from several NBA GMs. They all feel his game is really suited for the NBA, he does things a lot of guys at 6-foot-10 can't do."
Domask, Shannon, and Hawkins used the last two games as a business trip; now they are licking their chops thinking they can go into Knoxville and add another win on the left side of their overall standings. Could this be the year Illinois finally gets over the hump and puts the Illini back in the Sweet 16 or Elite Eight? Stay tuned: all signs are pointing in that direction.
When the leader (Underwood) smiles at the media and says, "Yeah, I kinda like this team," it should tell you to expect a great season, Illini fans.
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