The Illinois basketball team beat the No. 10 ranked Duke Blue Devils Tuesday night 83-68.
Illinois got the win over Duke as they had control the entire game. As soon as the Orange and Blue got up by double-digits, they never looked back.
The Illini had a good gameplan coming into the matchup with Duke and executed well. This led to multiple Illini players having good games. That’s the reason I’m giving out co-MVPs.
The co-MVPs against Duke are Ayo Dosunmu and Da’Monte Williams.
Dosunmu’s stats consisted of 18 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He had a good shooting night as he shot 6-of-11 from the field, but 0-of-2 from three-point range. He did do a good job at the free throw line shooting 6-of-6, though. Throughout the whole game, Dosunmu played well.
Williams had good numbers as well, as he put up 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 assist. He also had his best shooting performance as a member of the Illini. Williams shot 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from three-point range. He consistently made winning plays on offense and defense.
Other guys such as Trent Frazier, Andre Curbelo, and Kofi Cockburn played well. But Williams and Dosunmu stuck out the most to me. Dosunmu was the most consistent player throughout the game for Illinois while Williams had a good shooting night and made tremendous effort plays to help this team win.
If you ask me, this was an upset win considering how prestigious of a program Duke is. The Illini will look to build on this win. On Saturday, Illinois will face off against the Missouri Tigers.