5 massive observations from the Illinois basketball win over Duquesne

It has been nearly 20 years, but the Illinois basketball team is finally back in the Sweet 16.

The Illini took down a tough Morehead State team in the first round, and we ran into a hot Duquesne team on Saturday. This was a Dukes program that just took down the No. 6 seed two days earlier, so they were poised for another upset.

Illinois squashed the chances for an upset quickly. We pounced on Duquesne, and they had no idea what was happening. The game got out of hand in the blink of an eye.

Duquesne never led in the game. They were down by double-digits less than seven minutes in, and that margin would only continue to grow. A 50-26 halftime lead for the Illini ended up growing to an 89-63 win over the Dukes.

Here are five massive observations from the Illinois basketball win over Duquesne

1. Best defensive game of the year from Justin Harmon

Defense hasn’t exactly been a strong point for the Illinois basketball team this season. We average giving up over 73 points per game and rank outside the top 200 nationally.

Through all of the bad defensive play, you could always point out a few of the super bad defensive players on the team. I would argue the worst defensive player Illinois trotted out on the court was Justin Harmon.

Harmon was a reserve the entire season, and when he came off the bench, he would struggle in different areas defensively. The opponent could drive the ball and get around him easily. He wouldn’t get through screens, leaving a man wide-open for a three-point attempt. It was some brutal basketball to watch.

But something changed with Harmon, especially on Saturday night. He was a different player defensively. It is like he woke up and things started to click.

Harmon was great on the defensive end of the court against Duquesne. He wasn’t lazy getting through screens. His effort on the perimeter had a lot to do with the Dukes only shooting 29.4% from three-point range.

Throughout the game, Harmon was active and aware too. Duquesne tried to dump the ball down into the post, but Harmon broke off his man and stepped into the passing lane for a steal. This completely shut down anything the Dukes had going on that possession.

Illinois has had some weaknesses throughout the season. Defense was one of those weaknesses, especially with someone like Harmon. If that is fixed, oh my, this team has a chance to do something really special in the coming weeks.