Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from the Illini win over Wisconsin

2. Ayo Dosunmu is ridiculous

Everyone knew that Ayo Dosunmu was a great player coming into the game on Saturday. The kid was averaging over 20 points per game and has the ability to dish out the ball with the best of the best. But he had a game for the ages against the Badgers.

Ayo ended the day with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists while shooting 6-of-12 from the field. He recorded only the third triple-double in Illinois basketball history. This fact alone makes this a special game and one no one will forget any time soon.

I have preached this before and it holds true to the day. Illinois doesn’t need Ayo to put up 30 points and shoot the ball 20 times per game. That is actually a recipe for the Illini to lose. This program needs Ayo to do everything else. He needs to be a well-rounded player for the team.

It wasn’t going to be easy taking down No. 19 Wisconsin. The Badgers had a good team, but Ayo managed to do all of the other things, and this propelled us to victory.

Ayo’s 12 rebounds in the game were a tie for his season-high. His 12 assists in the game were a season-high. He also had two steals in the game, which was another tie for a season-high. This kid was doing everything for the Illini.

If we can get Ayo near a triple-double in every game the rest of the way out, no one will stop us. That might not be realistic, though. But if we can get the talented guard to keep doing the other things at a high rate, then we have a shot to go all the way still. This kid is special.