Illinois' great season to date took a massive hit Thursday when the school's best player, Terrence Shannon Jr., was charged with rape and immediately suspended from all team activities.
"The University and DIA [Division of Intercollegiate Athletics] have shown time and again that we have zero tolerance for sexual misconduct," said Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman. "At the same time, DIA policy affords student-athletes appropriate levels of due process based on the nature and severity of the allegations. We will rely on that policy and our prior experiences to manage this situation appropriately for the University and the involved parties."
Right now, we still have more questions than answers, and I'm not interested in speculating much about how things might unfold. But one thing worth remembering in this era of college athletics -- and something I pointed out on Thursday's episode of the Eye On College Basketball podcast -- is that players rarely return after being charged with rape. It's one thing to be accused of a crime like this — but actually being charged is a whole different deal, one that's typically difficult to recover from, broadly speaking, now that universities all of the country have changed policies connected to how they deal with athletes who are charged with sexual assault.
So what to do with Illinois?
That's the biggest question facing Friday morning's CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where the Illini have been sitting at No. 5 thanks to a 9-2 record featuring a neutral-court victory over Florida Atlantic and losses only to Marquette (home) and Tennessee (away). But now Illinois has lost its best player — possibly for the season. Presumably, the Illini will not be the same team without Shannon. You don't have to be an analyst to share that opinion. You just have to recognize that the 6-foot-6 fifth-year wing who is currently third in the KenPom.com Player of the Year race behind only Purdue's Zach Edey and Duke's Kyle Filipowski is averaging 21.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 33.0 minutes per game while shooting 51.4% from the field and 40.8% from beyond the arc.
This is a big loss.
That acknowledged, I've never really made a habit of adjusting the Top 25 And 1 because of injuries or suspensions. Instead, I usually just let things play out and adjust when results require it. So that's what I'm going to do with Illini — at least for now. For those curious, Illinois' next game is Friday at home against Fairleigh Dickinson. After that, the Illini will resume Big Ten play with games against Northwestern at home (Tuesday) and Purdue on the road (Jan. 5) before two more home games against Michigan State (Jan. 11) and Maryland (Jan. 14).
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Zach Edey finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Thursday's 100-57 win over Jacksonville. The Boilermakers' next game is Friday against Eastern Kentucky. | -- | 34-5 |
| 2 |  | Kevin McCullar finished with 34 points and six rebounds in Friday's 75-60 win over Yale. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against Wichita State. | -- | 23-11 |
| 3 |  | Emanuel Sharp finished with 17 points and four steals in Thursday's 72-37 win over Texas State. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Penn. | -- | 32-5 |
| 4 |  | Zakai Zeigler finished with 13 points and five assists in Thursday's 65-46 win over Tarleton State. The Vols' next game is Jan. 2 against Norfolk State. | -- | 27-9 |
| 5 |  | Quincy Guerrier finished with 28 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 97-73 win over Missouri. The Illini's next game is Friday against Fairleigh Dickinson. | -- | 29-9 |
| 6 |  | Samson Johnson finished with 16 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 69-65 win over St. John's. The Huskies' next game is Jan. 2 against DePaul. | -- | 37-3 |
| 7 |  | Johnell Davis finished with 35 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 96-95 win over Arizona. The Owls' next game is Saturday against Florida Gulf Coast. | -- | 25-9 |
| 8 |  | Caleb Love missed 17 of the 25 shots he attempted in Saturday's 96-95 loss to FAU. The Wildcats' next game is Friday at Cal. | -- | 27-9 |
| 9 |  | David Jones finished with 28 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 77-75 win over Vanderbilt. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Austin Peay. | -- | 22-10 |
| 10 |  | David Joplin scored 20 points and finished with nine rebounds in Friday's 81-51 win over Georgetown. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday against Creighton. | -- | 27-10 |
| 11 |  | Antonio Reeves finished with 30 points and two steals in Thursday's 95-76 win over Louisville. The Wildcats' next game is Friday against Illinois State. | -- | 23-10 |
| 12 |  | RJ Davis finished with 23 points and five assists in Wednesday's 81-69 win over Oklahoma. The Tar Heels' next game is Friday against Charleston Southern. | -- | 29-8 |
| 13 |  | Javian McCollum finished with 23 points and two assists in Thursday's 88-72 win over Central Arkansas. The Sooners' next game is Sunday against Monmouth. | -- | 20-12 |
| 14 |  | Graham Ike finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday's 100-76 win over Jackson State. The Zags' next game is Friday against San Diego State. | -- | 27-8 |
| 15 |  | Nique Cifford finished with 23 points and four rebounds in Friday's 76-67 win over Loyola Marymount. The Rams' next game is Friday against Adams State. | -- | 25-11 |
| 16 |  | Spencer Johnson finished with 14 points and seven assists in Friday's 101-59 win over Bellarmine. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Wyoming. | -- | 23-11 |
| 17 |  | Matthew Murrell finished with 26 points and five assists in Saturday's 89-72 win over Southern Miss. The Rebels' next game is Sunday against Bryant. | -- | 20-12 |
| 18 |  | PJ Hall finished with 27 points and four rebounds in Friday's 109-79 win over Queens. The Tigers' next game is Friday against Radford. | -- | 24-12 |
| 19 |  | Jared McCain finished with 21 points and three assists in Wednesday's 78-70 win over Baylor. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against Queens. | -- | 27-9 |
| 20 |  | Ja'Kobe Walter finished with 26 points and five assists in Friday's 107-48 win over Mississippi Valley State. The Bears' next game is Jan. 2 against Cornell. | -- | 24-11 |
| 21 |  | AJ Storr finished with 29 points and two rebounds in Friday's 80-53 win over Chicago State. The Badgers' next game is Jan. 2 against Iowa. | -- | 22-14 |
| 22 |  | Terrence Edwards finished with 29 points and nine rebounds in Friday's 89-75 win over Morgan State. The Dukes' next game is Saturday against Texas State. | -- | 32-4 |
| 23 |  | Devin Carter finished with 24 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 85-75 win over Butler. The Friars' next game is Jan. 3 against Seton Hall. | -- | 21-14 |
| 24 |  | Jaylin Williams finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Friday's 82-62 win over Alabama State. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Chattanooga. | -- | 27-8 |
| 25 |  | Reece Beekman finished with 17 points and seven assists in Wednesday's 79-44 win over Morgan State. The Cavaliers' next game is Saturday at Notre Dame. | -- | 23-11 |
| 26 |  | Hayden Hefner finished with 24 points and two rebounds in Friday's 79-52 win over Houston Christian. The Aggies' next game is Saturday against Prairie View A&M. | -- | 21-15 |
