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

Illinois basketball dominated the Michigan Wolverines on Tuesday in just about every statistical category imaginable.

When it was all said and done, the Illini emerged victorious in Ann Arbor by a score of 76-53. The Wolverines didn’t have an answer for any of the Illinois players, and it showed in the box score. There were a few numbers that stood out to me the most, though.

Here are four big statistics from the Illini win over Michigan.

1. 15%

The Michigan Wolverines have a good team all around. They are solid on both ends of the court, but specifically, they have a great offense.

Michigan’s offense had me worried entering the game on Tuesday. They had a lot of firepower and I wasn’t sure how Illinois was going to handle the talent. But the Illini did a great job containing the No. 2 team in the nation. In fact, the Wolverines had their worst shooting night of the season.

Illinois held Michigan to 15-percent below their season field goal average.

Coming into the game, the Wolverines were hitting their shots at a clip of 49.7-percent, which ranked No. 7 in the nation. That number, on paper, is insanely good. Games aren’t played on paper, though, and Illinois was able to hold Michigan to just 34.7-percent shooting on the night.

It really was a great defensive effort by the Illini. The hottest had for Michigan was their backup No. 5 Austin Davis who was 4-of-4 for the game for nine points. The only reason he got going was that he wasn’t matched up against Kofi Cockburn. He only had to handle Giorgi Bezhanishvili.

Two of the biggest offensive weapons for Michigan, Franz Wagner and Hunter Dickinson, were a combined 2-of-17 for eight points. This was a big reason why Illinois was able to get out to such a big lead and never look back.

Overall, it was a great defensive effort by the Orange and Blue. Holding Michigan to 15-percent under their season average from the field is an incredible feat.