■ Illinois knocks off Michigan on the road to take over sole possession of the Big Ten lead. Ayo Dosunmu made the game-winning shot with 0.5 seconds left
Dosunmu’s clutch shot puts Illinois alone in 1st place
Introducing your first-place
Illini.
Sounds strange, right? But Illinois, which has been teetering between abysmal and mediocre the last several years, is atop the Big Ten — only the most rugged league in the nation.
After Michigan State’s loss to Indiana on Thursday and Illinois’ 64-62 victory at Michigan on Saturday, the No. 21 Illini (15-5, 7-2) are in sole possession of the top spot and on a six-game tear. It’s Illinois’ longest conference winning streak since the Final Four season of 2004-05.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s victory:
1. Ayo Dosunmu continues to make clutch shots.
With Illinois needing a shot to win, everyone knew the ball would be in sophomore Ayo Dosunmu’s hands at the end of the game.
He still made the jumper with Zavier Simpson guarding him tightly and only 0.5 seconds left on the clock.
“We just chose to let him go,” coach Brad Underwood told reporters after the game. “I’ve seen him practice that shot a million times.
“He stops on a dime. He got to 15 feet, and it was well-guarded, but he knocked it down.”
Dosunmu scored a career-high 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting with seven rebounds to carry an otherwise struggling lineup.
In the last five games, Dosunmu has averaged 19.2 points and 5.4 assists while shooting 53.7% from the field.
His late-game heroics helped Illinois hold off Wisconsin, Rutgers and Northwestern and he was brilliant down the stretch against Purdue.
Dosunmu’s shot against Michigan (11-8, 2-6) will be most memorable.
There were nine ties and 12 lead changes Saturday before Dosunmu’s game winner. He scored six of the Illini’s final eight points.
2. Being a road warrior in the Big Ten should pay dividends.
The conference has become notorious for its tough road environments.
Few wins this season have come for teams outside of their home arenas.
Illinois is 4-3 as a visitor in the Big Ten, calling the wins “roadkill.” Only Wisconsin and Iowa have as many as three road wins.
The Illini have looked composed outside of Champaign with wins at Wisconsin and Purdue to make it three straight on the road. They had not won in Ann Arbor, Mich., since 2010.
The eventual conference champion in this beat-up-oneach-other league will have to have collected at least a few road wins — and Illinois is proving it can do so.
Michigan State can move back into a first-place tie with Illinois with a road win Sunday at Minnesota.
3. Illinois can overcome weak spots.
The Illini found itself in foul trouble with Kofi Cockburn fouling out and Giorgi Bezhanishvili (three) and Trent Frazier (four) also struggling. Cockburn finished with a season-low five points on 2-of-9 shooting and second-to-lowest rebound total with three. He picked up his fifth foul seemingly out of frustration.
But Illinois picked up the slack with its defense.
The Illini held Michigan to 39% shooting, including 23.5% (4 of 17) on 3-pointers. In their two games against Illinois, the Wolverines have shot only 7 of 35 on 3-pointers. Michigan managed only five assists. Trent Frazier was strong on defense against Simpson for much of the game.
And while Dosunmu carried the offense, Andres Feliz added 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting to go with seven rebounds off the bench.