As the games got bigger, Terrence Shannon Jr. got better.
After a 40-point performance in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, Shannon delivered on the biggest state in the championship, posting 34 points to lead the Illini to a 93-87 victory over Wisconsin Sunday afternoon at Target Center in Minneapolis.
Perhaps no plays he made were bigger than the steal he collected with 1 minute, 2 seconds remaining in the contest and the Illini up 88-85. He was fouled on a layup attempt in transition and made both free throws to stretch the Illini lead to five.
But it wasn't just Shannon who made plays, it was a showdown between two guards on both teams. AJ Storr and Chucky Hepburn gave Shannon and Marcus Domask a run for their money all game long, trading blows back and forth throughout Sunday's Big Ten title game. Storr and Hepburn had 24 and 20 points, respectively.
Domask scored 26 points, eight assists and seven boards for the Illini.
Illinois led 41-40 at the halftime break, but the Badgers started to open things up in the second half, taking a 10-point lead with 14 minutes, 38 seconds remaining.
It took less than three minutes for the Illini to find themselves right back in the game, and they jumped ahead by five a few minutes after that during a 7-0 run in which they held the Badgers scoreless for 2 minutes, 5 seconds.
Then the two teams traded blows.
Max Klesmit hit two big 3-pointers for the Badgers, one that gave them an 82-81 lead and another that tied the game at 85-85 with less than two minutes remaining.
But Shannon had an immediate answer, drilling a 3 of his own to put the Illini up 88-85. And that's when he came up with what essentially came to be the game-sealing steal. The Badgers got a couple back from the free-throw line after that, but they couldn't get any closer as the Illini held them off.
The Illini's Big Ten title earned them a third seed in the NCAA Tournament. Illinois will face Morehead State in the opening round of the tournament. Wisconsin earned a fifth seed and will play James Madison in its tournament opener.
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