Illinois takes on Western Illinois in long-awaited rematch

Field Level Media|published: Fri 24th November, 03:57 2023

Nov 19, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (0) drives to the basket as Southern Jaguars forward JaRonn Wilkens (1) defends during the first half at State Farm Center. credits: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

It has been so long since Illinois played Western Illinois, Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood had just finished his 10-year stint as a Leathernecks assistant and was still 10 years from becoming a Division I head coach.

On Nov. 22, 2003, Dee Brown led then-No. 12 Illinois to a 94-66 victory over Western Illinois in the first game of the Bruce Weber era. Twenty seasons later, the Leathernecks (2-3) finally get their rematch Friday against the Illini (4-1) to wrap up a multi-team event that began with games against Valparaiso and Southern.

Considering Illinois defeated Valparaiso and Southern by a combined 51 points — while Western Illinois split its games against the Beacons and Jaguars with a plus-1 differential — the outcome in Champaign, Ill., shouldn't be in doubt.

Nonetheless, this is a big game for the Illini. It's their last chance to play before their Big Ten opener Dec. 2 at Rutgers, though they'll likely be without starting center Coleman Hawkins for the third straight game due to knee tendinitis that has bothered him since the summer.

Underwood doesn't worry much about his team's prowess defensively or on the boards — Illinois entered Thanksgiving ranked as the nation's No. 10 defense per KenPom and sixth with 47.2 rebounds per game — but the offense needs to improve.

Illinois tends to struggle when all-Big Ten senior Terrence Shannon Jr. (19.6 points, 3.2 assists) isn't causing havoc with his slashes to the basket.

"We've been trying to add some things offensively," Underwood said. "Trying to clean some things up. We're not very good at setting screens (due to) bad angles."

Western Illinois seeks improvement offensively as well. First-year head coach Chad Boudreau, who was promoted in April after three seasons as an assistant, had to replace WIU's top three scorers. Junior college transfer James Dent Jr. averages a team-high 17.2 points for a team shooting just 41.5 percent from the field and 28.9 percent from 3-point range.

However, the Leathernecks are second in the nation with 7.6 blocks per game and they outrebound opponents by 10.0 per game.

"They're elite in a couple of areas," Underwood said.

—Field Level Media