No. 24 Illini Survives Northwestern's Upset Bid 75-71
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Brad Underwood has said previously he would love Illinois basketball to be defined by winning ugly.
Mission accomplished again.
The equation of a 75-71 win over the last-place team in the Big Ten Conference included Kofi Cockburn looking uncomfortable for the entire 33 minutes of his playing time. The Illini also only got three points from its wing rotation combination of Alan Griffin and Da’Monte Williams. Finally, Illinois got outrebounded on the offensive end and lost the second-chance points category for only the fourth time this season.
This unpretty winning formula included recruiting victories in form of Ayo Dosunmu and Trent Frazier that occurred for Underwood in his first two seasons as the Illini head coach. The Illinois guard duo combined for 31 points on just 22 shots and also dished out nine assists.
“You just put this one in the left-hand column and move on to the next,” Underwood said. “(Northwestern) has had very few nights where teams have been able to deliver that knockout punch. You have to keep rolling for 40 minutes...and when you’re not at your best, you got to find a way.”
In its first game as a ranked program since 2014, No. 24 Illinois survived a 75-71 victory over a youthful upset-minded Northwestern squad thanks to a dozen second-half points by Dosunmu.
Dosunmu, the designated Illini closer, had eight of Illini’s last 13 points to secure its fourth-straight Big Ten Conference win and sixth straight win at State Farm Center. Dosunmu, who has assumed the late-game play-maker duties during this current winning stretch, had some help from his friends as Illinois (13-5, 5-2 in Big Ten) had five players finish in double figures in its fourth straight win over Northwestern in Champaign.
“You want to stop Ayo? Go ahead,” Underwood said. “When we’re making jump shots, it becomes a pick your poison scenario.”
Early on, it was Dosunmu’s backcourt counterpart, Frazier, who carried the Illini with a trio of 3-point shots in the first half. The final of those three perimeter shots marked the moment Frazier surpassed the 1,000-point plateau in his college career and becoming the 50th player in Illini history to accomplish the mark.
Northwestern head coach Chris Collins, who has seen his team suffer back-to-back losing seasons since making the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history in 2017, said he got sick to his stomach to see Frazier hit his first jump shot. The junior guard finished with a team-high 16 points and matched a career-high five rebounds after coming in 11 for his last 47 in the previous nine contests.
“I would too,” Underwood joked. “Everybody knows Trent is capable of a 30-point half. We need his offense. The next level is for us to get him going consistently.”
Northwestern (6-11, 1-6 in Big Ten) had five different players hit a 3-pointer Saturday and were led by freshman forward Robbie Beran’s 17 points as the 6-foot-9 forward’s perimeter game had Illinois’ bigs uncomfortable and stretched out to the 3-point line. The Wildcats have now lost three straight road conference games by single digits.
“We didn’t come here (and) drive through a Siberia snowstorm last night to just be a sacrificial lamb,” Collins said. “We’re just a couple possessions away. When you’re in the moment and as a competitor, you want to win now.”
Illinois also got 13 points from Giorgi Bezhanishvili, which represented his first double-figure effort in over a month. The native of Georgia had a dunk and a 3-pointer to get the State Farm Center crowd on its feet.
In a 2019-20 season where only five Big Ten teams have won road games, Illinois managed to defend its home floor one more time before embarking on a critical road stretch next week including games at Purdue and Michigan.