OMAHA, Neb. — Some Illinois players wore T-shirts touting the “Dainja Zone” on their trip to the NCAA Tournament, a nod to big man Dain Dainja.
It turned out to be prophetic for the No. 3 seed Illini, who turned to Dainja in the second half of a tight game and watched him go on a seek-and-destroy mission in a 85-69 rout of No. 14 Morehead State on Thursday afternoon.
Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 26 points, including 19 in the first half, while Dainja added a season-high 21, of which 17 came in the second half as the Illini pulled away.
Dainja, who averaged only 5.8 points and 10 minutes coming into the tournament, hit all nine of his field-goal attempts, adding eight rebounds and two blocks in a near-perfect game.
“I can’t even describe it to you,” Dainja said of being in the zone. “I feel unstoppable out there. The work is showing that I’ve been putting in during those times and nobody is there with me.”
The Illini trailed by two a little less than three minutes into the second half when Dainja took over, hitting six straight shots and scoring 14 of the Illini’s next 17 points to give them a commanding 59-48 lead. A signature dunk on a fast break with 12 minutes remaining rocked the house at CHI Health Center and let angst-ridden Illini fans relax, at least until Saturday.
Is the monkey off their back yet?
“I think we’ve got to win a couple more games to get that,” guard Luke Goode said. “But it’s nice to get one win. You can’t get to six games without the one first. We’ve got to be ready for the next one.”
The Illini take on No. 11 seed Duquesne in a second-round East Region game Saturday (7:40 p.m., TNT). The Dukes earlier pulled off a 71-67 upset of sixth-seeded BYU. Duquesne, the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament champion, started 9-8 but since have won 16 of 19 and nine straight for retiring coach Keith Dambrot.
“They just won’t let me retire, man,” Dambrot said after the win. “I’m trying to retire. We keep winning games. They’ll make me an old man.”
The Illini found themselves trailing Morehead State 9-0 in the blink of an eye when the Eagles hit their first three 3-pointers. Coach Brad Underwood joked he was 0-for-3 in delivering the same pregame speech, referring to similarly slow starts against Ohio State and Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament.
“We’ve got to avoid those,” he said. “They’re smart. They understand that. But again, it’s something we can’t have moving forward. That’s on me. That’s my job to get them bouncing off the ceilings here as we go.”
Shannon was the only one bouncing off the ceiling early and proved to be unstoppable in the first half, pouring in 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting. His one-man show helped make up for the slow start by Marcus Domask, who went 1-for-5 from the field and added only two points before the intermission but wound up posting the 10th triple-double in NCAA Tournament history, finishing with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Ja Morant had the last one in the 2019 tournament, and the list also includes Draymond Green (twice), Dwyane Wade, Andre Miller and Shaquille O’Neal.
“I was aware of it because Terrence kept telling me about it,” Domask said with a grin.
The Illini went into the half leading 39-38, shooting 48.4% overall and 40% (6-for-15) on 3-pointers. Freshman Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn came off the bench to hit two big 3s in the half, and Goode finished with three 3s in four attempts.
“It’s crazy,” Dainja said. “Our team, our biggest thing is our depth. We’ve got guys that can step up, a freshman that can make big shots and play defense. It just really gives us a push.”
A one-point halftime lead was still too close for comfort for Illini Nation, which has been wounded by so many tournament disappointments. But Underwood took advantage of Dainja’s size and energy, and the Illini went on cruise control the final minutes.
Shannon’s hustle play in the second half, nearly crawling on the court for a loose ball and eventually knocking it off a Morehead State player and out of bounds, was something Underwood had harped about all season.
“Those are the plays that separate you,” Underwood said. “When arguably your best player does that, it means a lot. Everybody else has to step up to that.”
It wasn’t a game-changing play but an indication the players all know what is at stake now. Every play matters. And every player matters.
“There’s no selfishness, and that’s what’s been great about the team all year,” Goode said. “It’s the culture we’ve built. Everyone is happy for each other. Doesn’t matter who is producing. When Dain was kind of out of the rotation, he was one of the best teammates possible.
“I’ve gone through a tough stretch the last month and I try to be the best teammate too. Tonight, me and Dain and Dra came in and were able to impact the game, and all of our teammates were really excited for us.”
The Illini wound up shooting 54.2% overall and 46.2% from 3-point range. Underwood pulled his starters, and Dainja, with three minutes left and a 24-point lead.
The Dainja Zone was closed for the day, and it was on to Round 2.
“We’ve got to get over this one,” Dainja said. “We can celebrate a little bit, but the job is not finished.”
