It's rare for two teammates to score at least 30 points in the same game while also both shooting above 70% from the field.
How rare?
Before Terrence Shannon and Marcus Domask did it in Illinois' 98-89 victory over Florida Atlantic inside New York's Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, it had not been done by a pair of Division I teammates since Thomas Kenney and Drew Samuels did it for Marist in January 1999.
"Obviously, those two were pretty special tonight," said Illinois coach Brad Underwood. "Heck of a college basketball game. That was terrific. It's not often you shoot 63% [from the field in a game] and you need all of that to win."
Yes, Illinois shot 63.2% from the field against FAU — largely because of Shannon and Domask. Shannon, a 6-foot-6 wing, took 14 shots, made 10 of them and finished with a career-high 33 points and two assists. Domask, a 6-foot-6 forward, took 21 shots, made 15 of them and finished with a career-high 33 points and six rebounds. That means those two players combined to shoot 71.4% from the field to help Illinois extend its winning streak to five games and move up to No. 10 in Wednesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings.
Yes, that's a big jump.
But it's a big jump that feels appropriate now that Illinois is 7-1 with a neutral-court win over an FAU team that's still 10th at BartTorvik.com, 14th in the Top 25 And 1, 15th at EvanMiya.com and 16th at KenPom.com. Illinois' lone loss is by single digits to a Marquette team that's No. 7 in the Top 25 And 1. So the Illini's résumé is impressive one month into this season, and it's now reasonable to label Illinois as arguably the biggest threat to Purdue's quest to win back-to-back Big Ten titles.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Oumar Ballo finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 82-55 win over Colgate. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Wisconsin. | -- | 27-9 |
| 2 |  | Zach Edey finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds in Monday's 87-68 win over Iowa. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against Alabama. | -- | 34-5 |
| 3 |  | Kevin McCullar finished with 25 points and five assists in Tuesday's 88-69 win over Kansas City. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against Missouri. | -- | 23-11 |
| 4 |  | LJ Cryer finished with 23 points and four rebounds in Friday's 66-60 win at Xavier. The Cougars' next game is Wednesday against Rice. | -- | 32-5 |
| 5 |  | Cam Spencer finished with 23 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 87-76 win over North Carolina. The Huskies' next game is Saturday against Arkansas Pine Bluff. | -- | 37-3 |
| 6 |  | RayJ Dennis finished with 17 points and seven assists in Tuesday's 78-60 win over Seton Hall. The Bears' next game is Dec. 16 against Michigan State. | -- | 24-11 |
| 7 |  | David Joplin was 3-of-13 from the field in Saturday's 75-64 loss at Wisconsin. The Golden Eagles' next game is Wednesday against Texas. | -- | 27-10 |
| 8 |  | Graham Ike finished with 17 points and nine rebounds in Tuesday's 111-71 win over Arkansas Pine Bluff. The Zags' next game is Saturday at Washington. | -- | 27-8 |
| 9 |  | Joel Scott finished with 17 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 86-81 win over Washington. The Rams' next game is Wednesday against Denver. | -- | 25-11 |
| 10 |  | Terrence Shannon finished with 33 points and two assists in Tuesday's 98-89 win over FAU. The Illini's next game is Saturday at Tennessee. | 10 | 29-9 |
| 11 |  | Max Abmas finished with 26 points and six assists in Thursday's 77-58 win over Texas State. The Longhorns' next game is Wednesday at Marquette. | -- | 21-13 |
| 12 |  | Armando Bacot was 4 of 12 from the field in Tuesday's 87-76 loss to UConn. The Tar Heels' next game is Dec. 16 against Kentucky. | -- | 29-8 |
| 13 |  | Jonas Aidoo finished with 17 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 87-66 win over George Mason. The Vols' next game is Saturday against Illinois. | -- | 27-9 |
| 14 |  | FAU allowed Illinois to shoot 63.2% from the field in Tuesday's 98-89 loss to the Illini. The Owls' next game is Dec. 13 against FIU. | 4 | 25-9 |
| 15 |  | Wade Taylor IV was 2-of-10 from the field in Wednesday's 59-47 loss at Virginia. The Aggies' next game is Wednesday against DePaul. | 1 | 21-15 |
| 16 |  | Rob Dillingham was 1-of-9 from the field in Saturday's 80-73 loss to UNC Wilmington. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Penn. | 1 | 23-10 |
| 17 |  | Norchad Omier finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds in Saturday's 62-49 win over Notre Dame. The Hurricanes' next game is Wednesday against LIU. | 1 | 15-17 |
| 18 |  | Baylor Scheierman finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds in Sunday's 89-60 win at Nebraska. The Bluejays' next game is Saturday against Central Michigan. | 1 | 25-10 |
| 19 |  | AJ Storr finished with 22 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 70-57 win at Michigan State. The Badgers' next game is Saturday at Arizona. | 4 | 22-14 |
| 20 |  | Duke was 4-of-16 from 3-point range in Saturday's 72-68 loss at Georgia Tech. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against Charlotte. | 2 | 27-9 |
| 21 |  | Javian McCollum finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 72-51 win over Providence. The Sooners' next game is Saturday against Arkansas. | -- | 20-12 |
| 22 |  | Jaxson Robinson finished with 19 points and three rebounds in Tuesday's 96-55 win over Evansville. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Utah. | -- | 23-11 |
| 23 |  | Isaac McKneely finished with 22 points and two rebounds in Tuesday's 77-47 win over North Carolina Central. The Cavaliers' next game is Saturday against Northeastern. | 1 | 23-11 |
| 24 |  | Dylan Andrews finished with 17 points and five assists in Thursday's 66-65 win over UC Riverside. The Bruins' next game is Dec. 9 at Villanova. | 1 | 16-17 |
| 25 |  | Joseph Girard III finished with 25 points and two assists in Sunday's 79-70 win at Pitt. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday against South Carolina. | 1 | 24-12 |
| 26 |  | Jamison Battle finished with 15 points and seven rebounds in Sunday's 84-74 win over Minnesota. The Buckeyes' next game is Wednesday against Miami (Ohio). | NR | 22-14 |
