Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over the Wisconsin Badgers

Illinois basketball has been playing well lately, and that momentum continued Saturday against Wisconsin.

The Illini were coming off an impressive home win over Ohio State on Tuesday. Traveling to Madison is a whole different animal, though. Wisconsin is always tough on the road, but Illinois took the challenge and came away with another huge win.

Despite the score being close for much of the game, Illinois took full control late in the second half. A nice 19-2 run capped off what ended up being another double-digit win over the Badgers, 61-51.

Here are five observations from the Illinois basketball win over the Wisconsin Badgers.

1. Dain Dainja was an enforcer

The Illinois basketball team had ups and downs throughout the day, but when we needed a stop or to get the offense going, Dain Dainja seemed to always be there waiting.

Dainja was the replacement for Kofi Cockburn after the big man decided to take his talents to the professional ranks. What Illinois got to replace Kofi is more agile than the former All-American big man, and Dainja has better touch in the paint.

Early in the game, Wisconsin would go on a 7-0 run to get the lead to 10-7 in favor of the Badgers. At that point, Dainja flipped a switch. He would go on a streak of pulling down rebounds, scoring, and shot-blocking that turned the tides of the game.

In a span of about five minutes, Dainja would have eight points, two rebounds, and one block. This kept the game close and killed Wisconsin’s momentum.

By the end of the game, Dainja would play 32 valuable minutes, and he would finish with nine points, eight rebounds, two blocks, and one steal. His touch when needed was special, and Wisconsin couldn’t get anything going on the inside. Dainja was a true enforcer for the Illini.