Terrence Shannon Jr. is back and so is Michigan State

Illinois fans got surprisingly good news last week when Terrence Shannon Jr. had his suspension overturned by U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Lawless. It turns out that Illinois suspending Shannon Jr. based on the rape and sexual battery charges against him violates his civil rights.

“Plaintiff’s participation in sports is vital to the development of his career as well as his current and future economic opportunities considering plaintiff’s intention to declare for the 2024 NBA Draft,” Lawless wrote in the order issued Friday. “Prior to his suspension, plaintiff was projected to be a lottery pick in the NBA. His participation in future games impact his prospects in the draft and his earning potential.”

Usually “innocent until proven guilty” only applies to the justice system and not to sports leagues (or in this case, schools) who suspend players in order to protect their precious family-friendly images. It was a pleasant surprise to see Shannon Jr. reinstated when we don’t know if he’s guilty of anything. The accusations against him are bad and disturbing, but there’s also very little evidence. I’m glad he gets to continue his final season of college basketball with the hope of impressing NBA scouts.

Illinois probably didn’t need Shannon Jr. to defeat Rutgers on Sunday, but he still scored 16 points with four assists in 28 minutes off the bench in his first game back. Rutgers got a great effort from Cliff Omoruyi, and he helped the Scarlet Knights claw to within four points at 55-51 with 10 minutes left, but the Illini pulled away and won 86-63. Guys like Marcus Domask and Quincy Guerrier were able to spread their wings a little with Shannon Jr. out of action, so you can make the argument that Illinois is better off now than they were before the suspension. Many people won’t be happy that a player allegedly sexually assaulting a woman resulted in increased team chemistry, but it is going to be tough to pick against Illinois going forward.

Another team with high preseason expectations that is round into form is Michigan State. The Spartans are on a three-game winning streak with the most recent victory coming on Sunday at Maryland. The Terps erased a 12-point halftime deficit with a 21-6 run that led to them taking a 53-50 lead on Jahmir Young’s three-point shot with 13 minutes to play. However, Sparty bounced back and escaped with the 61-59 win thanks to three big field goals by A.J. Hoggard in the final eight minutes as well as a clutch step-back three from Tyson Walker to put Michigan State up 61-57 in the final minute. Young appeared to answer with a step-back three of his own seconds later, but his foot was on the line. Maryland got one more chance to tie or win following a defensive stop, but Tre Holloman stripped Young of the ball to keep the Spartans in the win column.

Michigan State has found a formula for success lately: forcing turnovers and scoring in transition. In its last two wins, the Spartans won the turnover battle 19-5 vs. Minnesota and 18-8 at Maryland. When you combine that with Walker’s ability to navigate the open floor and get to the bucket or find his teammates, Michigan State gets a nice boost on offense. It also helps when Malik Hall is stepping up and scoring in the post. He has scored in double digits during his last four games since he laid a goose egg in a loss at Northwestern. Plus, Tre Holloman has provided some offense off the bench with 29 points in his last three games.

Northwestern and Nebraska battle on the bubble

The two “NU” schools are the two in the most precarious stop in the NCAA Tournament projections. According to ESPN, Northwestern is a 10 seed right now and Nebraska is a nine seed. Those could be reversed if Northwestern had found a way to win in Lincoln on Saturday, but the Cornhuskers stayed undefeated in home conference games thanks to a big three-point shot by Keisei Tominaga that extended Nebraska’s lead to two possession with 25 seconds left.

Northwestern overcame an 11-point deficit and tied the score at 65-65 with four minutes to play, but could not finish the job. Nebraska gave the Wildcats many chances to win with 18 turnovers, but Northwestern is not going to win many games when Boo Buie and Ty Berry combine to shoot 4-for-25 from the field. Nebraska followed up the 75-69 win over Northwestern with a 83-69 shellacking of the slumping Buckeyes on Tuesday night. Rienk Mast went nuclear with an incredible 34 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists on 13-for-17 shooting, including 6-for-8 from beyond the arc. Mast has been a nice pickup for Nebraska in the transfer portal this season, but this kind of output was not foreseen by anyone. On the season, Mast is a 35-percent three-point shooter with a little more than one make per game. If this shooting performance wasn’t a total fluke, the Cornhuskers will be even more difficult to guard.

Meanwhile, Ohio State has lost four of five, with the one win coming on Saturday at home against my Nittany Lions. Penn State did not look ready to play coming out of the gate, as it fell behind 16-0 in the first seven minutes. That was not what I was hoping for following Penn State’s big win over Wisconsin. I knew that winning on the road in the Big Ten is a different story than winning at home, but there is no excuse for the pathetic offensive performance to start that game in Columbus. I would say that the Lions were reading their press clippings, but there have not been press clippings about Penn State Basketball in a long time. Maybe from the student newspaper, but that’s it.

Anyway, Penn State played Ohio State pretty even the rest of the way and shot 46 percent from three-point range to avoid being completely humiliated, but the game was never very close. Ohio State won 79-67.

Purdue is still a juggernaut and Indiana is a tire fire

Not much to report on the Purdue front. It snapped Iowa’s three-game winning streak on Saturday with a decisive 84-70 win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Zach Edey furthered his Player of the Year case with 30 points, 18 rebounds, and four blocks. It was part of a Purdue performance that saw the Boilermakers grab 19 offensive rebounds on 37 missed field goals. It is nearly impossible to lose when you shoot 45 percent from the field and still pick up 19 offensive boards. On Tuesday, the Boilers returned home and smashed Michigan 99-67. This time, Edey only scored 16 points with 10 rebounds, as Purdue buried the Wolverines with 14-for-21 shooting from beyond the arc. Lance Jones went 5-for-9 from deep with 24 points to lead the way. Michigan was overwhelmed from the jump and none of the Purdue starters had to play 30 minutes.

That brings us to Indiana. After the Hoosiers were blown out by Purdue a week ago, they traveled to Madison and lost their 20th straight game in the Kohl Center. With Kel’el Ware out due to injury, Indiana had to throw multiple guys at Wisconsin center Steven Crowl. That opened up other opportunities for the Badgers, and Crowl finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists while Max Klesmit continued his hot streak and scored 26 points on just 11 field goal attempts. Malik Reneau carried Indiana on offense with 28 points and eight rebounds, but the Hoosiers could not keep pace with Wisconsin’s hot shooting. Midway through the second half, CJ Gunn was ejected for elbowing Klesmit in the face. It marked the third flagrant foul and second ejection for the Hoosiers in their last four games. You have to wonder if Mike Woodson has lost control of the locker room, as this is turning into a nightmare season for Indiana. It doesn’t get easier with a trip to Champaign looming on Saturday.

Wisconsin has bounced back nicely from its shocking defeat in State College last week. Not only did it crush Indiana, but it won a tough game in Minneapolis on Tuesday even though the Gophers played tough defense and overcame a Badger lead that peaked at 15 points in the first half. Minnesota took the lead late thanks to a pair of clutch buckets by Dawson Garcia. The Gophers had a two-point lead and the ball with two minutes left, but a huge steal by Klesmit and subsequent fast break dunk by A.J. Storr flipped the game in Wisconsin’s favor. Mike Mitchell Jr. had one last chance to send the game to overtime when he perfectly missed a free throw and grabbed his own rebound, but the put-back fell out, allowing Wisconsin to hold on with a 61-59 road win.

Wednesday is another big night in the Big Ten with Maryland and Iowa battling to stay relevant in the NCAA Tournament conversation when they play each other in Iowa City. After that, Northwestern looks to solidify its Tournament resume with an upset win at home over rival Illinois.

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