It was supposed to be a great night on Saturday for Terrence Shannon Jr., who—after two tremendous seasons with the Fighting Illini—was set to have his jersey retired at the University of Illinois' State Farm Center.
Said great night took an unfortunate turn as, while the 24-year-old unfurled the everlasting banner, it was revealed to be set up upside-down.
Here's a video of the error:
Well .. this didn't go quite as planned. #Illini #B1G pic.twitter.com/fV88HmVnD7
— Scott Richey (@srrichey) February 16, 2025
And a photo:
Folks, someone is getting fired. pic.twitter.com/Em2RlP7yGY
— Robert Rosenthal (@ALionEye) February 16, 2025
Shannon Jr. set the conference record in 2023-24 for most points scored in Big Ten tournament game (40) and also set the school record for most points scored in a season (736). While a comical mishap, his jersey will surely be flipped before it's permanently set in the rafters.
The evening didn't get much better for the Fighting Illini. After getting out to a four-point halftime lead over No. 11 Michigan State, they were outscored by the Spartans 42-24 in the second half—while being held scoreless for the final 8:29—and were handed a 79-65 defeat. The victory for MSU was head coach Tom Izzo's 354th career Big Ten win.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Illinois Accidentally Unveils Upside-Down Banner for Terrence Shannon Jr. Jersey Retirement.
