Basketball

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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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