Illinois Basketball: Slight movement from the Illini in latest AP Top 25 poll
The new AP Top 25 poll has been released and the Illinois basketball team continues to climb.
Last week, the Illini moved up to No. 21 in the nation. This was the highest they have been since the 2012-2013 campaign, which was also the last time the Illini made the postseason. Illinois now checks in at No. 19 in the nation. Why were we able to move up, though?
The answer to that question is simple. We went on the road twice this past week, in the Big Ten, and came away with a 2-0 record. That is an extremely difficult feat considering we went up against Purdue and Michigan, both are tough road teams.
Purdue was the first matchup of the week. The Illini had taken down the Boilermakers by 26 points the first game this season, so I expected Purdue to come out hot. That didn’t happen, though. They kept the game close in the first half, but Illinois was able to pull away late.
The Purdue game was dominated by mainly three Illini players. Kofi Cockburn led the way with 22 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks. Trent Frazier started Illinois off on the right foot with a couple of three-pointers. He ended the night with 21 points. Ayo Dosunmu was the third member of the three-headed monster. He ended the night with 18 points and 11 assists. This was one of the best games I have seen the Illini play in years.
Michigan was a tougher matchup for the Orange and Blue. The Wolverines, along with the refs, were able to contain Kofi in the paint. He only had five points and three rebounds to go along with his five fouls on the day. But, thankfully, Ayo stepped up.
This was the best game I have seen Ayo play for the Illini. He had a career-high 27 points to go along with his seven rebounds and two assists. His ability to take over a game is something I hadn’t seen much in the past. But he was able to take control and even hit the game-winning shot.
3 observations from the Illini win over Michigan (part 2). dark. Next
These two games were huge for the Illini. It showed the nation that this team is for real. I was thinking they were going to be ranked higher, but we are still moving up. We only have one game this week and that at home against Minnesota. Let’s see if we can continue this hot streak.