Tate | Trending in the right direction
Mar. 4—How many times, over the years, have we cringed in watching an Illinois native spark an opposing basketball team in State Farm Center?
More than a dozen such instances happened during Indiana's Bob Knight era alone, not to mention all those Iowa Hawkeyes.
Saturday presented an uncommon reversal as Wisconsin native Marcus Domask was superb throughout the Illini's 91-83 win at the Kohl Center and, most importantly, spearheaded the strong Illinois finish.
You could make an argument that Domask and All-America candidate Terrence Shannon Jr., both transfers in the era of the portal, are establishing themselves as the nation top 1-2 punch ... at least those that don't include a center. Domask (31 points) and Shannon (23 points) combined to convert 7 of 12 three-pointers in producing 54 points.
Brad Underwood's veteran lineup is averaging 93.7 points during the last six games and has topped 80 points 21 times in reaching 22-7 ahead of Tuesday night's showdown with visiting Purdue at State Farm Center. In becoming the first team to win four straight at the Kohl Center since the venue opened in 1998, the Illini had averaged just 68 points in the previous three, including a 61-51 triumph there last year.
Back and forth
Oh, yes, the defense remains a concern. With 7-foot veteran Steven Crowl in foul trouble (he played 14 minutes), the Badgers turned to 6-9 Tyler Wahl for 20 points. Their 44 points in the paint included 17 layups, further proof of Illinois' weak rim protection. One-on-one coverage was shoddy at times. The game itself was a typical duel of runs.
Wisconsin rocketed ahead 14-5 as Dain Dainja was called for a flagrant foul on a spin move. Illinois countered with a 29-13 spurt to take a 34-27 lead, only to see Wisconsin recover and forge ahead 49-47 after halftime.
For all the give-and-take, Illinois managed the necessary stops down the stretch and Domask received key help from his teammates, including sixth man Justin Harmon. The closing 10 minutes were almost a repeat of recent wins against Iowa and Minnesota, this three-game streak wiping out the disappointment in failing to hold a 10-point lead in the last 2:30 at Penn State.
Hitting the courseIt is unfortunate that the vast numbers of enthusiastic Illini followers have so few opportunities to follow the school's most recent Big Ten champions: both golf teams and women's track and field.
It is the nature of these sports that they spend most of their competitive moments traveling afar to multi-team events, a routine that won't change when the Big Ten expands to 18 teams next year.
Mike Small's powerhouse men's squad (13 Big Ten titles) hosts a rousing September event each year at Olympia Fields — part golf, part fundraiser in the Chicago suburb — and will make the lone appearance locally at the Atkins Golf Club on April 20-21. Pray for good weather.
Renee Slone's women's golfers caught the conference by surprise last spring when then-senior Crystal Wang fired a 62 and the Illini champions outdistanced Northwestern by three shots in Pittsburgh.
It will be difficult to repeat that success with two freshmen and two sophomores of the Illini's current six-person squad.
For viewers, the women have nothing closer than Ohio this spring.
Staying on trackWomen's track and field projects as a success story that could be sustained. And coach Petros Kyprianou is planning more home events in the future for both the men's and women's programs. As it stands, the upcoming outdoor season will offer the Gary Wieneke Memorial on April 13 and the Illini Tune-Up on May 4.
"We're planning three indoors and three outdoors here next year," Kyprianou said.
The women will be extra special next season. After 11 seasons in which they never finished better than ninth in the Big Ten championships, Illini with future eligibility scored 101 of 104 points as they outdistanced runner-up Penn State by 17 points. They qualified nine women for the NCAA Indoor Championships that begin Thursday in Boston.
Kyprianou has a history of engagement with untapped overseas talent. During its Big Ten title efforts the final weekend in February, the Illini leaned on Darja Sopova (Latvia), Bara Sajdokova (Czech Republic), Elizabeth Ndudi (born in Ireland, listed from France) and Rose Yeboah (Ghana) for 39 Big Ten points.
In the long jump, four Illini finished in the top eight, with freshman Ndudi the leader. Sajdokova and Sopova, both juniors, won the high jump and triple jump, respectively. And Normal junior Jessica McDowell took the Big Ten 200-meter dash while adding a third-place finish in the 400 (she'll be the guest at the Esquire radio show at 5 p.m. Monday).
And Kyprianou has more prize women on the way, indicating that three of his committed recruits project as national contenders next year. This will be something to follow ... and watch.
Loren Tate writes for The News-Gazette. He can be reached at ltate@news-gazette.com.
