Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from the Illini win over Minnesota

4. Complete team victory

Through most of the games this season, the Illinois basketball team has had to rely on one or two players to carry the entire squad. On Tuesday night, that wasn’t the case.

Yes, Kofi Cockburn put up 29 points and led the Illini in scoring, rebounding, steals, and blocks. I realize that is a lot of production from one player and it looks like one player is carrying this team. But there was a lot more production that came from the supporting cast against Minnesota.

Nine different Illinois players scored points on Tuesday night. Four players had at least nine points. 12 points came from the bench. That is a lot of point distribution among the entire roster. The bench play was tremendous too.

Jacob Grandison and Da’Monte Williams both led the Illini with four assists apiece. Nine players had an assist on the night with four players having multiple assists. That is a sign of great ball movement. Ball movement equals victories.

As a team, the Illini shot 16-of-19 from the free throw line, which is 84.2%. We also hit 45.8% of our shots from the field and 42.9% from three-point range. That is a great team effort shooting the ball.

Illinois’ bench ended the game with a stat line of 12 points, 19 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. They were sensational for the program, and one of the reasons we were able to win by 23 points.

Sure, Kofi led the Illini to this great win, but the rest of the team played their roles and got this team over the finish line. Illinois is more than just one or two players. This is a team that is poised to do some special things in 2022.