Illinois Basketball: 4 big statistics from the Illini win over Wisconsin

4. 8-0

Ayo Dosunmu is a special player on the basketball court. This kid is a dynamic scorer and can do all of the other things like rebound and distribute the ball.

Once again, Ayo had a great game against Wisconsin. He was all over the floor doing whatever it took for the Illini to get the win. He dropped 21 points in the game, but more importantly, everyone else on the floor for Illinois got involved.

Illinois basketball is now 8-0 this season when Ayo shoots 15 or fewer shots in games.

That is a crazy number, right? When the best player on the floor shoots the ball 15 or fewer times in a game, Illinois has a record of 8-0. When he shoots the ball 16 or more times per game, Illinois is only 5-5.

I keep writing about this and updating after every game. It is fun watching Ayo dice up a defense with his offensive capabilities. The kid has developed his three-point shot and continues to improve in every offensive facet of the game.

But Illinois doesn’t need him to score at a high volume. The team needs him to do all of the other things well. There is a reason LeBron James tries to get his teammates involved early in games. When teammates are engaged in the game, they will produce more.

Ayo accomplishes this frequently. While he dropped 21 points against the Badgers, those points only came on 12 shots from the field. But, I believe, the 12 rebounds, 12 assists and 2 steals were way more valuable than any point Ayo scored.

Each Illinois starter had at least five shots on the night and three of the four bench players had multiple shots. Every member of the Illini roster who played at least five minutes against the Badgers took at least two shots in the game. They were all involved and working toward the same goal. If Ayo can keep leading this team and getting everyone involved, then I believe we can win the title.