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!
2. You have to give Luke Goode his flowers
The entire Illinois bench had an incredible game. I touched on how great Dain Dainja was for the Illini, but I think we should acknowledge the contributions of Luke Goode as well.
Throughout much of his career, the Goode roller coaster has been a wild one. There are times he has been terrible on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court. Leading up to the Nebraska game in the Big Ten Tournament, he wasn’t playing well on defense, and he had scored just 12 points in the six games prior.
Goode dropped 12 points in that Nebraska game, but then he came out against Wisconsin and laid an egg. He failed to score a single point in 15 minutes against the Badgers. So, who knew what we would get out of Goode in the NCAA tournament?
Well, now we know. Goode came out on fire. He finished the game with nine points, four rebounds, and one assist on 3-of-4 shooting, all of which were from three-point range.
Goode was smart offensively. He didn’t take bad shots, and the only one he missed was wide-open. Goode moved when his teammates were in trouble, which gave them a clear passing lane to get him the ball.
On defense, Goode wasn’t a liability in the least bit. He hustled all over the court and went up for rebounds. His hustle alone wins a lot of Illinois fans over, but when you mix that with great offense, you have a dynamic player.
Goode was big for Illinois in the first round of the NCAA tournament. If we get this Goode the rest of the way, Illinois is going to be a very dangerous team.
3. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn gave Illinois some important minutes
I can’t get over the bench play for Illinois. The first two slides were about bench players, and I am continuing that trend with the third slide.
For the game, the Illinois bench contributed 36 points in meaningful playing time. There were some garbage baskets toward the end, but the bench put up 36 points. It also had 13 rebounds, two blocks, and one assist.
A part of the bench that played meaningful minutes was Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn. This was a shocking development in the first half because I thought Brad Underwood was going to shorten his bench. I didn’t think he would play a freshman in anything but garbage minutes.
Gibbs-Lawhorn checked in during the first 20 minutes of action, though. The game was tied at 29, and the star freshman got his chance to shine. He came down the court and knocked down a three-pointer to give Illinois the lead.
Morehead State came storming back again later in the first half. They got the deficit back to one point at 36-35 with a big three-pointer. Gibbs-Lawhorn once again came through. He knocked down another three-point attempt, giving Illinois a 39-35 lead.
Those two buckets were huge for Illinois. We were struggling a bit against the Eagles, and it took a freshman to come in and help spark some offense. His six points and a rebound really helped propel Illinois to a victory on Thursday. His play in crucial minutes can’t go unnoticed. Gibbs-Lawhorn was big for this program.
4. Illinois players picked up Ty Rodgers
Over the past month, I have been extremely impressed with Ty Rodgers. The young utility player has been doing everything on the court, and his offensive game seems to be improving.
Coming into the first round of the NCAA tournament, Rodgers had scored at least seven points in the prior five games, which included a 12-point outing against Ohio State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Sadly, against Morehead State, Rodgers had his worst game of the season. He didn’t give Illinois a single point, going 0-of-2 from the floor. Both of his shots were kind of ugly too. He wasn’t in a good position, and they were forced attempts.
Even when Rodgers isn’t great on the offensive end, he usually does the other things well. That wasn’t the case on Thursday either. He had three rebounds, two assists, and two turnovers. This was arguably his worst game since coming to Champaign.
But what is great about the Illinois basketball team is when we have someone playing poorly, his teammates pick him up.
Dain Dainja came through and picked up the slack. He had a career game. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn contributed points, and Luke Goode gave Illinois points and rebounds. The team rallied around Rodgers and pulled him along, just like he would do if the shoe was on the other foot.
Illinois has built some great depth on this team, and it showed against Morehead State. I fully expect Rodgers to be back to normal in the second round, as he is such a dynamic player for this program.
5. Brad Underwood didn’t force the lineup
I was really proud of Brad Underwood on Thursday. This is a coach who has been stubborn at times with his lineups, but he made some adjustments against Morehead State.
Underwood went with his standard starting lineup of Terrence Shannon Jr., Marcus Domask, Ty Rodgers, Quincy Guerrier, and Coleman Hawkins. That lineup has been set in stone for much of the season.
Shannon, Domask, and Hawkins had good games against Morehead State, but both Rodgers and Guerrier were struggling. They each had their own issues with the Eagles’ lineup, and they just couldn’t get going.
Instead of staying the course and having those two figure it out on the fly, Underwood started rotating his bench players into the game and leaving them in. He didn’t pull the reserves and let them continue to stay hot out on the court.
Underwood wasn’t stubborn against Morehead State. He only played Rodgers for 13 minutes and Guerrier for 12 minutes. While these two will continue to start and are extremely talented, Underwood knows who had the hot hand on Thursday.
This ability to adapt to his surroundings is impressive. Underwood has done this with the recruiting landscape, and now he is doing it with his lineups. Riding with Dain Dainja, Luke Goode, and even Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn paid off in this situation. It was a great adjustment from one of the greatest coaches in program history.