Michigan hosts Illinois, the one Big Ten team that Juwan Howard hasn’t beat during his tenure as head coach, tonight (8:30 p.m., FS1) at the Crisler Center.
The Illini enter tonight’s contest ranked 12th per KenPom despite losing Terrence Shannon Jr. to an indefinite suspension shortly before Christmas. Brad Underwood revamped his roster with a solid portal haul this offseason, and this group has fit together more effectively and efficiently than last year’s team.
The Illini are 3-2 since losing Shannon to suspension, but their metrics haven’t suffered much. Bart Torvik ranked Illinois 15th with Shannon and 21st in the games without him. Underwood’s team plays a style of offense and defense that has proved difficult for Juwan Howard’s program to conquer, but the Wolverines get another shot tonight (with their full roster).
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