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Bob's buzzer beaters | Rocky shooting dooms Illini

bob asmussen, the news-gazette, champaign-urbana, ill.
·5 min read

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Basketball is very simple: Make shots, win.

So, when the iron is unkind or you miss the rim completely (to the required "air ball" chant) the result is not going to be in your favor.

Talk all you want about defense and rebounding, but the game really comes down to one skill. On Saturday afternoon at Tennessee's monstrous Thompson-Boling Arena, the host Volunteers shot better than Illinois in an 86-79 victory.

The experience at an unfriendly court will serve Illinois well later in the season when it travels throughout the Big Ten.

And credit for the Illini for hanging tough in the final minutes. It could have easily been a 20-point decision.

Here's what else I'm thinking after Illinis dropped to 7-2:

1

The loss won't do major damage to Illinois in The Associated Press rankings, which come out Monday. Brad Underwood's team already had a high-profile victory during the week against ranked Florida Atlantic. And this game was on the road with Illinois entering as six-point underdog.

I'm guessing Illinois remains at about No, 20 in the rankings.

Tennessee, which has only lost to ranked teams this season, figures to soar up the rankings.

2

What, did you think Terrence Shannon Jr. and Marcus Domask are going to score 33 points every game? Not realistic.

The two stars of the win against Florida Atlantic struggled Saturday. They went a combined 2-13 in the first half. They will both play better in the future.

3

Oregon transfer Quincy Guerrier did what he could for Illinois, scoring 12 points in the first half, with three three-pointers. He finished with a team-high 22 points. A positive sign going forward.

Brad Underwood joins @JonRothstein as @IlliniMBB finishes the first half on a 16-6 run. pic.twitter.com/LkP09lhHdH

— CBS Sports College Basketball (@CBSSportsCBB) December 9, 2023

4

Good news Illinois fans: Dalton Knecht won't be with Tennessee when the Volunteers play at the State Farm Center next December. The Northern Colorado transfer will be out of eligibility after this season.

The Thornton, Colo., native did more than enough damage in his one game against Underwood's team, scoring a team-high 21 points.

5

College basketball just feels right on CBS. It looks and sounds like the NCAA tournament, no matter who the announcers. The analyst combination of Bill Raftery and Jay Wright is a winner, with Raftery oh so fun and dapper Wright adding a huge dose of recent relevance. Anybody else calling games who has two national titles? Didn't think so.

6

I visited Thompson-Boling Arena for the first time on Dec. 12, 1997, when Theresa Grentz's Illinois women's basketball team took on legend Pat Summitt's powerhouse Vols. Illinois led by 14 at halftime before the Volunteers rallied for a 10-point victory. The building is amazing, the biggest college facility I have been in other than Kentucky's Rupp Arena.

7

Hard to believe it has been more than 35 years since Illinois and Tennessee last played. The 1988 blowout by the Lou Henson's team came against the Vols coached by Don Devoe.

Old-timers can tell you that DeVoe, then at Virginia Tech was the rumored Illinois basketball choice before Henson was hired.

Worked out well for Illinois, with Henson cementing his Hall of Fame career in Champaign-Urbana.

8

While the Tenessee women's basketball team had all those years of stability under Summitt, the men's program has been more hit and miss,

Current coach Rick Barnes is in his ninth season in Knoxville. He is the eight coach since DeVoe ended an 11-season run in '89, following Wade Houston, Kevin O'Neill, Jerry Green, Buzz Peterson, Bruce Pearl, Cuonzo Martin and Donny Tyndall. Only Pearl lasted more than five seasons.

9

Yeah, yeah, great crowd Saturday for basketball. But what the folks in Knoxville really care about is football. And Josh Heupel is finishing up a disappointing season. The Vols won the their finale against Vanderbilt, but dtopped the previous two in blowout fashion against Missouri and Georgia. Hepel's team plays Iowa in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1. That should be a humginger. Or 3-2.

10

Good to see academics are the priority for Illinois the next week. With finals on tap. the team doesn't play again until next Sunday against Colgate. Is Crest also on the schedule?

11

On his postgame radio appearance with Brian Barnhart and Deon Thomas, Illinois coach Brad Underwood said:

"I loved our first half. We didn't shoot the ball very well and we were up. The difference was we rebounded the ball in the first half.

"We got whipped on the glass in the second half. When you don't shoot the ball at a really high level ... it's about the defense side."

Underwood was impressed with Knecht. "He's a pro."

The game capped a 2-1 road swing that saw the Illini beat Rutgers and Florida Atlantic.

"I don't know if Illinois basketball has had a stretch like this," Underwood said. "We're excited. This is a great challenge. This game sure is not going to hurt us. We'll grow from it. There's a lot to learn. I like where we're at, I like the week we had."