5 massive observations from the Illinois basketball win over Minnesota

It was a wild wild west shootout on Wednesday night, as the Illinois basketball team scored 105 points in the victory.

The Illini played some great basketball offensively. We were moving the ball all around the court, and shots were dropping. It was one of the most impressive offensive performances in program history.

Illinois' defense was a different story. Minnesota was able to keep up with the Illini, as the game only snuck into a double-digit margin a few times. The Illini offense ended up being too much, though. Illinois was able to beat Minnesota, 105-97.

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

1. Illinois played one of the best offensive games I have ever seen

There are definitely some flaws with the Illinois basketball program, but one of the massive bright spots for this team is on the offensive end of the court.

I haven’t seen anything like what I am seeing on the court every game for the Illini. We are a powerhouse on offense. Coming into the game on Wednesday night, Illinois averaged 83.8 points per game, which ranked No. 10 in the country.

That is an impressive number. 83.8 points is a lot for the college game. Against Minnesota, the Illini passed that 83.8-point mark with 6:41 left in the game. That is how great we were offensively.

Illinois started the game making shots that were kind of bad. We were standing around in the first couple of minutes, but shots were dropping. After that, the ball started moving and we started to get more aggressive toward the basket.

Coleman Hawkins had the most aggressive night I have ever seen out of him. He continuously drove to the hoop and showed off his ability to finish within 10 feet of the basket. That is the Hawkins I have always wanted to see.

Terrence Shannon Jr. and Marcus Domask did their usual thing offensively as well. Domask was great backing his man down and hitting the buttery fadeaway. That shot is unstoppable. Shannon is just great, especially when he is on his game. He is the best player in the country when he is playing B+ or better in a game.

Illinois finished the Minnesota win shooting 61.3% from the field, 45.5% from three-point range, and 76.0% from the free throw line. Those are numbers that are rarely hit by an Illini squad. Since 2010, only seven Illinois teams have shot 60% from the field, 45% from three-point range, and 75% from the free throw line in a game. One of those happened on Wednesday night.