In a sea of orange, the blue sank.
As Terrence Shannon made his eighth three of the game with 2:52 remaining, the many No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini fans in attendance roared. They had extended their lead to ten, a deficit the No. 8 UCLA Bruins never could never overcome.
Shannon scored 29 points and grabbed ten rebounds as his team topped the Bruins, 79-70. The neutral venue saw the Fighting Illini win all angles of the battle by filling the crowd while dominating against the Bruins on the court.
A trio of seniors Tyger Campbell, and David Singleton, Jaquez scored 57 of their 70 points. While productive, the group only managed to knock in 40% of their shots, which proved costly because the Fighting Illini shot 52.9% from the field.
The veterans could not adjust against a full-court press in the second half, as the team turned the ball over eight times. The Fighting Illini went on a 50-26 run to finish the game, with the press fueling the early parts of the effort.
Jaylen Clark, averaging 17.3 points per game before the matchup, failed to fill the box score but was still disruptive defensively. He limited the Fighting Illini’s offensive flow with active hands and deflections.
While the Fighting Illini received bursts of contributions from their role players, the Bruins’ less prominent players were unimpressive. Adem Bona contributed five points, and Amari Bailey scored one, but that was all from the remaining players offensively.
Despite the Bruins’ struggles, there were bright moments, including when they finished the first half on a ten-to-zero run. They took a nine-point lead into halftime after forcing 13 turnovers. However, the Bruins’ defensive prowess failed to continue in the second half as the Fighting Illini made 56.7% of their shots.
They will have a chance for redemption on Sunday against the No. 5 Baylor Bears, who just lost to the No. 16 Virginia Cavaliers. The Bruins will look to avoid inefficiency against another highly-regarded opponent.
