Illinois basketball let Morehead State hang around, but we managed to pull away in the second half.
It was a bit of a bumpy ride in the first half. The Illini were able to hit shots, but the Eagles were firing right back. This was only a one-point Illinois lead at the halftime break.
In the second half, everything changed. Led by Dain Dainja, yes, Dain Dainja, Illinois stormed ahead. We were able to smother Morehead State with our great scoring, and they couldn't keep up. In the blink of an eye, Illinois was up by 20 points. We would end up cruising to an 85-69 win over Morehead State.
Here are five huge observations from the Illinois basketball win over Morehead State
1. Dain Dainja put Illinois basketball on his back
At the end of the day, Dain Dainja wasn’t the leading scorer for the Illinois basketball team. Terrence Shannon Jr. is going to get the spotlight because of the points he put up, and he deserves a lot of credit for the win over Morehead State.
But man, I don’t know if I have ever seen a performance like Dainja gave the Illini on Thursday. He was the sparkplug for Illinois to truly take control of the game. It is like what the great Rube Baker said in Major League II, “Mr. Parkman, you’re a great ballplayer and I just like to say, you’re standing on the tracks and the train’s coming through, butthead.”
Dainja was the train. He was incredible for the Illini, as Morehead State couldn’t handle any facet of his game. Dainja got the ball inside and used his incredible footwork to get to the rim. He finished in some jaw-dropping fashion. Dainja had a reverse layup that mesmerized me early on.
Illinois took control of the game against Morehead State once Dainja started to take over. The big man finished with 21 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks. If he didn’t come into the game and give Illinois his best performance since being in Champaign, I am not sure we would come away with the win. He put this team on his back.
Illinois had a stellar second half in its Round of 64 win and you can win big if it wins one more game thanks to FanDuel! Just sign up, deposit $10 or more and then bet $5 or more on Illinois to beat Duquesne. If the Fighting Illini win, you'll get $200 in bonus bets! Sign up with FanDuel with this link today!