5 massive observations from the Illinois basketball win over Minnesota

4. Dain Dainja making the most of his minutes

As I mentioned a couple of slides ago, Brad Underwood is trying to change. He started to play the bench more on Wednesday night because they showed how well the team can play when everyone is involved against Iowa.

One of the beneficiaries of the great play against Iowa was Dain Dainja. The big man had rarely seen double-digit minutes the past couple of months, but his great play was hard to ignore. He earned more minutes on Wednesday night and took full advantage of the time on the court.

Dainja was a big part of Illinois’ win over the Golden Gophers. We need a traditional big man sometimes, and Dainja can provide that style of player. He finished with 11 points, six rebounds, one assist, and one block on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line.

I am impressed every time Dainja steps on the court. He has moves under the basketball that Kofi Cockburn couldn’t pull off. Dainja’s smooth play and athletic ability set him apart from other traditional big men as well.

Over the past two games, Dainja has averaged 16.5 minutes, 8.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.0 blocks, 1.0 assists, and has shot 7-of-12, 58.3%, from the field. His play has been huge for the Illini and is one of the reasons we are winning games. I am glad he is making the most of his minutes on the court.