HANGING UPSIDE DOWN — Illinois had plenty of jobs on the night planned for the jersey retirement of former embattled star Terrence Shannon Jr., but the Illini failed the most basic one.

School officials publicly apologized after the jersey of Shannon, who led Illinois to its first Elite Eight appearance in nearly 20 years before being drafted 27th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves, endured through a string of gasps, awkward silences, and hundreds of jokes across the internet at halftime of the Illini's game against Michigan State.

That's when Illinois brought out Shannon's jersey to raise it to the rafters at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois — but upside down.

"Before we get into the substance of the game tonight, obviously, we had a regrettable situation at halftime with the jersey around (Shannon's) celebration," Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman told reporters after the game, per ESPN. "Obviously, a really regrettable moment. 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," he added. "We need to make sure we understand that in life, mistakes happen. But there are also certain moments where mistakes can't happen. And tonight, we stole that moment from (Shannon) and that's on us and something that we have apologized to him for, apologized to his mom. We want to make sure that we apologize to our fans and everybody who was excited to be a part of this experience tonight."

Shannon averaged 23 points per game en route to third-team All-America honors by the Associated Press last year in helping third-seeded Illinois to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2005.

The 6-foot-6, 215-pound wing who played three seasons at Texas Tech faced a turbulent season, including being suspended after he was charged with sexual assault stemming from an alleged incident in Kansas, according to Yahoo Sports.

Shannon was eventually reinstated and allowed to return to the team following a legal challenge, and last summer was found not guilty of rape and aggravated sexual assault.

"I was shocked because I was only here for two years," he told reporters before the halftime ceremony. "I was just happy. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to get my jersey up there."

The school said it "eventually" got the jersey right-sided to hang accurately inside the arena.

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