[ad_1]
There is no hotter and perhaps more dangerous team in America right now than Illinois. This is true thanks to his masked savior, Ayo Dosunmu, who returned on Saturday and morphed into a Late-Game Hero again to help Illinois No.4 claim a 73-68 victory at No.7. of the state of Ohio.
One of the most tired clichés of March is nobody wants to see this team in the NCAA tournament. Trite but true when it comes to this team, however. Illinois is as locked up as anyone right now. Yes, the top-ranked Gonzaga is still undefeated, but he’s only had to play WCC teams for months. No.3 Baylor appears to be returning to elite form, but he was convincingly knocked down a week ago in Kansas after being nearly upset by Iowa State. Michigan? The Big Ten champions (on a technical point, Illinois will remind you) were just gutted a few nights ago by the Illini – who didn’t even have Dosunmu in that game.
Illinois is the danger zone. Brad Underwood’s side are rolling positively as they enter the playoffs, going 11-1 since Jan. 16. sans Dosunmu – Saturday’s regular season finale came with a draw from behind on poor Buckeyes, who have now lost four in a row. Illinois pulled off another late-game rally, running a 9-0 run to shut it down and failing to allow OSU to score in the final 3:48. In this Illinois race, it was Dosunmu who emerged again to save the day.
“My job is pretty easy when you have guys like that,” Underwood said. “People have to realize how good he is and how great he is, and not just to score points. That’s all the rest.”
Dosunmu scored six of Illinois’ last nine points and finished with 19 points (7 of 10 from the field), four rebounds and three assists after three games away from a broken nose and a concussion. Dosunmu’s nose remains broken, which means he will be wearing a mask for the rest of the season. Call him “Domino Dosunmu”. College basketball masked superhero.
“Not every great player can do it alone,” Dosunmu said after the victory.
That’s right, but Dosunmu is as close as anyone in college basketball to downplaying that maxim. Freshman Andre Curbelo tied Dosunmu’s production (19 points), and center Kofi Cockburn added 12 points and six tables. With Dosunmu back, Illinois looks strong in the national championship. He brings to the table a je ne sais quoi that is unmatched this season by any other player. Without him, Illinois doesn’t win on Saturday. It seems clear. He’s changing the math for his team, for the Big Ten, whatever corner of the fork Illinois ends up in.
Saturday was the team’s third consecutive victory against a ranked opponent. The school hasn’t done this since 1999. It was also two in a row against top 10 teams. The last time Illinois won two back-to-back teams against the top 10 teams was in 2005. The stage was the NCAA tournament. Arizona and Louisville were the victims, and Illinois legends Deron Williams, Luther Head and Dee Brown were on their way to an appearance in the national title game and a 37-2 season.
This season, Illinois is 16-4 in the top league. That winning tally is a Big Ten school record, beating the 15 winning mark in 1984 and 2005. The Underwood team also have three road wins against the top 10 opponents.
Yet for this team, that is still not enough.
“With this win we think we are Big Ten champions,” Dosunmu said, alluding to Michigan winning the Big Ten title after finishing with 16 league games against Illinois. 19. Illinois have 16 league wins, while Michigan can lead with 15. if they beat Michigan State Sunday on CBS. Michigan’s higher winning percentage (because it played three games less) gives the Wolverines the regular season title and the No.1 seed in the Big Ten tournament.
All of this is more fuel for Illinois heading into the playoffs. He’ll be the angry No. 2 seed in the conference tournament over the next week. It is almost inconceivable to become a projected No.1 seed in the NCAA tournament while still having a legitimate chip on your shoulder, but Illinois can do it.
“I know we won 16 games and played all 20 games,” Underwood said. “We all knew it would be a unique situation with an imbalanced schedule in terms of not playing all the games, but I know no one has won more games than us and we have played them all.”
It is a group ready to win a national title. Let this be a huge task, but a Dosunmu, Cockburn and Co. will be ready. Illinois’ 29 league wins from last season to this season are the highest year-over-year total in school history, even better than the 2003-05 teams.
Dosunmu is still behind Luke Garza of Iowa for National Player of the Year, but his averages of 20.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists need to be seriously considered. If Dosunmu can maintain those numbers – and there’s nothing to suggest he won’t – then he will be the first player in 11 years in all of college basketball to finish a season on average at least 20/6/5. And he will, most likely, for a team on line 1.
“This is exactly what I came back for – and more,” Dosunmu said. “I wanted to come back and cement my name with my teammates in Illinois basketball history and college basketball history.”
The man has a broken nose. He’ll play through and don a domino in the process. I wish Dosunmu the fastest and healthiest recovery.
That said: we’re going to have the best of college basketball up close with the baddest mask you’ve ever seen in the NCAA tournament for a probably No.1 seed. That should be phenomenal.
[ad_2]
Source link