A shorthanded Illinois basketball team heading to the Kohl Center to take on the No. 23 ranked Wisconsin Badgers? Not a problem at all.
Illinois came out of the gates playing some of the best defense I have seen in years. They had a solid double-digit halftime lead and were able to hang on at the end despite a solid push by the Badgers. Illinois would end up winning the game, 74-69.
Here are four observations from the Illini victory over Wisconsin.
1. Ayo was dearly missed
Illinois played well for most of the Wisconsin game on Saturday. They were hitting some shots, playing great defense and rebounding decently well.
The Illini took an 11-point lead into halftime. That lead expanded to 14 points with under six minutes to go in the game. Things seemed to be going pretty well. Even when Wisconsin would try to make little runs, Illinois would have an answer with a bucket. With 2:26 to go in the game, the Illini were still up 12 points.
At that point, Illinois started missing Ayo Dosunmu dearly. Ayo has two things that really stand out about his game. The first one is the fact he is a closer. He can close games for Illinois with his great shot-making abilities. Illinois didn’t have that and went on a small drought there at the end of the Wisconsin game.
The other thing that stands out about Ayo’s game is the intangibles. Ayo’s brain is something that Illinois was missing. Down the stretch when Illinois was up by 12 points, Ayo would normally have the ball in his hands. He is smart and experienced. Instead of the Illini turning the ball over multiple times, we would have held onto it and not let the Badgers go on a run.
Illinois is, obviously, missing Ayo’s stat-stuffing, but his ability to close and his intangibles are what is missed the most. He would have sealed that game up on Saturday without us having to sweat it.