The Illinois basketball program did not have a great evening on Saturday at State Farm Center. Illinois basketball received its ninth defeat of the season in a 79-65 loss against Michigan State that saw Spartans coach Tom Izzo achieve a career milestone. To add insult to injury, Illinois' jersey retirement ceremony also did not go as planned.

The Fighting Illini made one crucial mistake during Saturday's Terrence Shannon Jr. jersey retirement celebration. When Shannon Jr. pulled a red string to reveal his jersey, the assembled fans at State Farm Center gasped in unison. Shannon Jr.'s jersey was upside down.

Illinois' athletic director Josh Whitman sounded off on the debacle in an interview after the game.

“Obviously a really regrettable moment,” Whitman said. “It's a shame that it happened that way. Of course, I didn't hang the jersey, but I'm ultimately responsible for everything that happens in this building. And ultimately that means that was on me tonight. We need to make sure that we understand that in life mistakes happen, but there are also certain moments where mistakes can't happen. Tonight, we stole that moment from Terrence, and that's on us. [It is] something we have apologized to him for, apologized to his mom. I wanted to make sure we apologized to our fans and everybody who was excited to be a part of this experience tonight.”

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Whitman did not hold back, eventually calling the upside down jersey mistake ‘inexcusable' per Joey Wagner of 247sports.com.

“Tonight was months in the planning. There was an incredible amount of great work done by our staff, by people in Terrence's camp. You think about from the t-shirts to the bobbleheads to the appearance to the video work that was done in preparation for this evening. The energy in the building was incredible, all crescendoing towards that one moment. For that to happen in that instance was inexcusable.”

Whitman clearly understands that the moment did not happen according to plan. He hopes it does not overshadow Shannon Jr. impressive accomplishments with the Illinois basketball program.

The Minnesota Timberwolves drafted Terrence Shannon Jr. with the 27th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.