Current:Home > MyConnecticut will try to do what nobody has done in March Madness: Stop Illinois star Terrence Shannon-LoTradeCoin
Connecticut will try to do what nobody has done in March Madness: Stop Illinois star Terrence Shannon
View Date:2025-01-11 13:33:14
BOSTON — Illinois senior Terrence Shannon Jr. is putting together an NCAA Tournament run for the ages. Connecticut is very aware.
When the No. 3 Fighting Illini and No. 1 Huskies meet on Friday with a Final Four bid on the line, all eyes will be on maybe the best matchup of this postseason: Shannon against the defending national champions.
While the Huskies have ripped through another three teams to run their postseason winning streak to nine games, all by a double-digit margin, Shannon’s ability as a scorer makes Illinois a dangerous opponent with enough punch to keep UConn out of the national semifinals.
“He’s playing like one of the best college players in the country,” sophomore forward Alex Karaban said. “He’s one of the tasks we need to get ready for. Like I said, he’s one of the best players in the country and everybody knows that.”
Shannon has scored 85 points through three games, becoming the first player in program history to score at least 25 points in three tournament games in a row. If he maintains this pace through the national championship game, Shannon would finish with the third-most points by a player in a single tournament, behind Michigan’s Glen Rice in 1989 (184 points) and Princeton’s Bill Bradley in 1965 (177 points).
FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA basketball bracket, scores, schedules, teams and more.
He scored 29 points in Thursday’s 72-69 win against No. 2 Iowa State despite playing just 30 minutes after getting into foul trouble.
“He’s strong,” sophomore center Donovan Clingan said of Shannon. “He’s crafty around the rim. He’s an elite player, a lottery pick.”
As an offense, Illinois reminds UConn of Marquette, coach Dan Hurley said. The Illini lost 71-64 to the Golden Eagles in non-conference play.
“I think there's different elements with the way that they space the court,” said Hurley. “Obviously, we watched their game versus Marquette in the non-conference, the one they played at Illinois. So there was some familiarity coming in.”
But Shannon is a different sort of individual talent than UConn has faced this season, leaving the Huskies poring over game tape to find ways to put the clamps on maybe the best pure scorer left in this tournament.
UConn will focus on three factors in an effort to stop Shannon from taking control: his ability to get to the free-throw line, his aggressive pace in transition and a go-to move that defenders have struggled to stop.
Shannon has gone to the line 24 times in tournament play. He’s made 18, just below his season average (80.4%). During the regular season, Shannon made double-digit attempts from the line 11 times, including in all three games during the Big Ten tournament, with a season high of 19 attempts in a loss to Penn State in February.
“We’ve got to keep him off the free throw line,” said senior guard Tristen Newton. “He runs fast and hard into the defenders’ shirts and gets to the line.”
Shannon is also one of the best players in the country in transition, where he’s a “freight train driving to the basket,” Karaban said. He scored four times on the break against Iowa State, including an emphatic dunk of a steal to seal Illinois’ win with under a minute left.
“He’s really, really quick,” said Clingan. “In transition, he’s getting ahead of the defenders and getting to the rim.”
Then there’s Shannon’s favorite move in the half-court set, said Newton, who described how Shannon will drive to his left, take a Euro step, cradle the ball in his left arm and invariably finish at the rim or draw the foul.
“That seems to work every time he goes down the court,” Newton said.
UConn seems to have a good idea what Shannon will try to do and how, even if stopping his well-rounded game is a different story. In a perfect world, though, the Huskies will take Shannon out of his comfort zone and force his teammates to pick up the slack.
Illinois has two other players averaging double figures in forwards Marcus Domask (15.8 points per game) and Coleman Hawkins (12.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game). But the Illini’s lack of offensive punch when Shannon was sidelined after his fourth foul in the second half against Iowa State showed how hard life can be with the senior off the court.
And UConn brings more to the table than the three opponents Illinois has beaten to reach Friday night: more bodies, more athleticism, more physicality and more length near the basket.
“He’s got to deal with what we do,” Clingan said.
veryGood! (6338)
Related
- North Carolina offers schools $1 million to help take students on field trips
- Man accused of trying to stab flight attendant, open door mid-flight deemed not competent to stand trial, judge rules
- Increased Flooding and Droughts Linked to Climate Change Have Sent Crop Insurance Payouts Skyrocketing
- California Has Begun Managing Groundwater Under a New Law. Experts Aren’t Sure It’s Working
- What is ‘Doge’? Explaining the meme and cryptocurrency after Elon Musk's appointment to D.O.G.E.
- 15 Products to Keep Your Pets Safe & Cool This Summer
- Chris Eubanks, unlikely Wimbledon star, on surreal, whirlwind tournament experience
- Amazon Shoppers Say These Gorgeous Gold Earrings Don't Tarnish— Get the Set on Sale Ahead of Prime Day
- Denver district attorney is investigating the leak of voting passwords in Colorado
- Shop the Best New June 2023 Beauty Launches From Vegamour, Glossier, Laneige & More
Ranking
- Apologetic rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine gets 45 days in prison for probation violations
- Inside Clean Energy: Rooftop Solar Gets a Lifeline in Arkansas
- More evacuations in Los Angeles County neighborhood impacted by landslide as sewer breaks
- TikTok officials go on a public charm offensive amid a stalemate in Biden White House
- Where you retire could affect your tax bill. Here's how.
- Gas stove makers have a pollution solution. They're just not using it
- The Beigie Awards: All about inventory
- How the Ukraine Conflict Looms as a Turning Point in Russia’s Uneasy Energy Relationship with the European Union
Recommendation
-
How Alex Jones’ Infowars wound up in the hands of The Onion
-
Even after you think you bought a car, dealerships can 'yo-yo' you and take it back
-
A Decade Into the Fracking Boom, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia Haven’t Gained Much, a Study Says
-
In a Summer of Deadly Deluges, New Research Shows How Global Warming Fuels Flooding
-
Medical King recalls 222,000 adult bed assistance rails after one reported death
-
Shoppers Are Ditching Foundation for a Tarte BB Cream: Don’t Miss This 55% Off Deal
-
A Disillusioned ExxonMobil Engineer Quits to Take Action on Climate Change and Stop ‘Making the World Worse’
-
Warming Trends: Climate Clues Deep in the Ocean, Robotic Bee Hives and Greenland’s Big Melt