NCAA Basketball: Takeaways from Virginia’s surprise Continental Tire title win

Key takeaways from 2nd Place Illinois Fighting Illini

Terrence Shannon will be a Big Ten Player of the Year candidate

The transfer from Texas Tech had just nine points, six assists, and four rebounds in the loss to Virginia. And that was clearly the worst game he has had in an Illini uniform. Before that, Shannon went for a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds in the win over the Bruins. He’s averaging 20 ppg on the season and is the best player and go-to option on the roster. Now on a team where he can be the focal point offensively, you’re seeing him blossom into a star. And with these kind of numbers (if he keeps up), Shannon will be a contender for the top award in the Big Ten.

Need someone to run the offense in clutch moments

While Shannon is the go-to guy to get a bucket, one problem that Illinois had was running an effective half-court offense. It was notable mainly against Virginia, with freshmen ball-handlers, Skyy Clark and Jayden Epps having some issues. They both were solid this weekend and will continue to improve but in the meantime, will have to manufacture some scoring production, including a lot of fastbreak opportunities.

Dain Dainja the x-factor for Illini

Coleman Hawkins is the starting center and he’s been good but the best big man this weekend was the Baylor transfer Dainja. He had 13 points on a perfect 6/6 shooting from the field against UCLA and 6 and 5 on Sunday versus the Cavaliers. On the season, he’s producing around 14 and 6 in fewer than 20 mpg off the bench. He’s a skilled big man and can score and while he’s not the best fit on the court next to Hawkins, it’s going to be hard to not get him more minutes.