For about 15 minutes it seemed as if Michigan would be able to go on the road, without Dug McDaniel, and hang around with a respectable showing against a good opponent. Michigan had traded punches with Illinois throughout the first half and then used a 8-1 spurt to trim the Illini lead to 28-25 in Champaign. There was 4:48 left on the clock and you might have thought that perhaps Juwan Howard's squad could get to the locker room feeling like they had a legitimate chance to win. Then the levee broke, the game taken over by the singular dominance of Terrance Shannon Jr., Illinois' primary star. He engineered a 19-4 run to end the half with his perimeter shooting and playmaking ability and before you could blink, it was an 18 point game at halftime. The second half was a continuation of that romp, spiraling to the point that Illinois lifted Shannon and other starters halfway through, because the score was so lopsided. Yeah. 

[Click for more and the box score]

The first half had some promising moments for Michigan. Terrance Williams II started the game reasonably hot, scoring a few early buckets to get Michigan into the game. Tarris Reed Jr. flashed a few moments on defense, collecting a couple blocks and making a few shots at the rim. George Washington III had one of the highlights of his young career on a an assist to set up a Will Tschetter fast-break dunk. Michigan was hanging in there, scrapping and clawing with a much more talented Illinois team. The run that trimmed the lead to three included dunks from Reed and Nkamhoua, as well as a jumper from the Finn. 

Shannon's explosion buried the game. Michigan's defense offered him up easy three opportunities from the corner, hitting two to get Illinois going. A minute later, he hit a third, a fast-break, pull-up three from downtown. Michigan was bleeding points now, their offense reeling as well. Just a pair of jumpers from Nkamhoua and Burnett stemmed the tide and it was not nearly enough as Illinois kept dominating on offense. Shannon made another three (his fourth in the final five minutes!), then blocked a Burnett jumper, came down the floor, drove inside, kicked to Luke Goode, and the wing drained that shot. Michigan turned the ball over immediately after, giving Illinois the ball in the frontcourt with 1 second left and the Illini actually connected on another three, but this one didn't count. Coleman Hawkins' pump-fake took too much time and Michigan went to halftime down 47-29. 

[Marc-Gregor Campredon]

The second half merits very little discussion, as it was more of the same. Illinois was just as hot as they were to end the first, guns blazing on offense with the same characters firing on all cylinders. Hawkins hit a three, then Shannon finished an and-one, all in the opening minute. Just like that, the lead was 24. Reed added some points for the Wolverines but Michigan kept putting up two-pointers while Illinois was tacking on three-point possessions. Hawkins hit another three and it was 59-34. By the time the under-16 timeout arrived, it was 63-37 Fighting Illini. At this juncture, Illinois was firing at 1.52 PPP, near the highest mark ever allowed by Michigan, per Dylan Burkhardt. 

That PPP clip didn't continue, because around the halfway point of the second half Brad Underwood lifted Shannon and some of the other stars. But it could've gotten there. Michigan was providing little resistance and the Illini were shooting the lights out. Juwan Howard left his regulars out there but the game had no air of competitiveness and eventually Cooper Smith and Jackson Selvala found their way out there. You can click on the box score if you want the nitty gritty details of this game, but minutes15 through 40 were identical to the Nebraska first half, so there is little else new to say here. Michigan without Dug McDaniel is a catastrophically bad basketball team and tonight was another piece of supporting evidence. 

The next game is on Saturday night at 8:00 PM EST against Michigan State. The game is at Crisler, so McDaniel will be back, and it can be found on Fox. Michigan is 8-17 on the season and 3-11 in conference play, still in dead last, but perhaps a win over the Spartans will save a little face for the season.