Basketball

Illinois’ Big Ten conference grind starts at home tonight versus undefeated Minnesota. The team looks to get back on track after a disappointing loss at Missouri. The Illini really took their game to the next level after last season’s loss to the Tigers. Hopefully, the close loss produces the same result this year and Illinois roars out of the gates rolling in the Big Ten season. While Minnesota hasn’t been picked by many experts to be a challenger for the Big Ten title, they have shown that they aren’t going to be a complete pushover like years past. Look for the Illini to come out early and make sure it’s crystal clear who is the better team.

Game Summary - The Illini played from behind most of the game. The last Illini lead was at 28-27 on a Kofi Cockburn layup. Much of their first half woes were caused by a transition defense that was particularly porous along with the erratic Illini free throw shooting. It took until 3:21 left in the second half for Ayo to carry the team back to a 76-76 tie. The chance to win the game in regulation decreased exponentially when a disputed flagrant foul call (via video review) was called against Kofi Cockburn with 40 seconds left in the game. The Illini found themselves down by three points, inbounding the ball with a full court in front of them with 11 seconds left. Ayo attempted an off-balanced three point shot that missed, effectively ending the Illini’s chance to win or tie the game in regulation. The flagrant foul was clearly caused by the motion of Mitchell Smith using his arm to push Kofi’s hand upward, resulting in a “slap” to his face.

It’s the Illini’s biggest non-conference game of the year. Tonight’s Border Battle vs. undefeated Missouri will take place in Columbia instead of St. Louis, due to COVID-19, thanks to a coin toss last month to determine the host venue. Coming off back-to-back contests against ranked teams in Baylor and Duke, the Illini can’t overlook a Tiger team that always saves their best for the Orange and Blue. Last year's embarrassing performance in this matchup fueled a furious 13-6 Illini run to end the season in the B1G - the toughest, deepest conference in the country. With that memories still fresh and a Missouri roster featuring 3 players who either played for or had committed to the Illini, I expect the team to be dialed in. 1 - Will the team keep the balanced attack rolling? In the last game versus Duke, six players on the Illini roster scored in double digit points and Adam Miller was one point away before being pulled out of the game to deal with a potential arm injury.

Game Summary - The Illini opened up a 12 point lead in the first five minutes of the game, then closed the half with a 43-29 point lead. That advantage quickly became 19 less than 90 seconds into the second half. At that point, the Illini withstood some bewildering calls as they coasted to a 15 point victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium. 

Preseason All-America Ayo Dosunmu scored 18 points as Illinois posted a dominating 83-68 victory over 10th ranked Duke. The junior guard led six Illini in double figures as they posted their first road win of the season. Illinois (4-1) jumped out to a 14-2 lead and never looked back. Adam Miller hit a trio of three-pointers in the first half and Giorgi Bezhanishvili scored seven points off the bench in the 1st half. Duke (2-2) closed the gap to 24-16, but the Illini took control on their way to a 43-29 halftime lead.

The Fighting Illini look to bounce back in Tuesday night’s ACC/B1G Matchup at Cameron Indoor Stadium versus 10th ranked Duke. After a tune up game on Saturday vs Tennessee-Martin was canceled due to COVID-19, the Illini look to get back to their winning ways. While the Baylor game didn’t have the ideal outcome, there were a lot of positives in the Baylor clash that the team can build off. If the Illini can come out with high intensity and energy, they have a chance to take this young and inexperienced Duke team out of their comfort zone. 

There was a time that offensive slumps by the Illini were so frequent that they were as commonplace as popcorn vendors in the stands. Those days are gone for now, but it was the one lapse Wednesday night that did in the Illini. #2 Baylor (4-0) used a 14-3 run in the 2nd half to break open a tight game as they went on to score an 82-69 victory over the 5th ranked Illini. The Jimmy V Classic game in Indianapolis marked the first top 5 non-conference matchups in Bears history. Illinois (3-1) struggled early on against the relentless Baylor defense, committing four turnovers in the opening six minutes and missing on five of their first six free-throw attempts.

  Premium Members Only. Please Subscribe To View The […]

  Premium Members Only. Please Subscribe To View The […]

  Premium Members Only. Please Subscribe To View The […]

Preseason All-American Ayo Dosunmu scored 27 points, including a pair of free throws in the final seconds, as #8 Illinois survived an upset bid by Ohio, 77-75.

  Premium Members Only. Please Subscribe To View The […]

Game Summary

Game Summary
The Illini handed the Aggies a one-sided beating that one would expect a B1G championship contender to deliver to a mid-major team. The Illini dominated in every facet of play. Even against a “cupcake” like N.C. A&T, shooting 17-31 from the three point line and setting a new Illini record for three pointers made in a game is encouraging. It provides hope that the days of being the equivalent of “the gang who can’t shoot straight” in terms of field goal accuracy might be in the rearview mirror for this team. No certain conclusions can be drawn today, but it was reassuring to not struggle for a victory against a team that the Illini were heavily favored to beat. Let’s hope this continues. Confidence is a must with games against Baylor and Duke on the horizon.

Adam Miller
Setting the record for most points in an Illini debut, Adam Miller lived up to the hype he generated on the recruiting trail.

No fans. No problem.