3 takeaways from Illinois' 3-0 start, including a scare against Ohio and Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn leading the way
Many in sports believe a win is a win.
Illinois junior Ayo Dosunmu put it a little differently: “Winners find a way to win.”
The No. 8 Illini had to fend off a terrific fight from Ohio on Friday to wrap up a three-day multi-team event at State Farm Center and go 3-0 with a 77-75 victory.
After trailing by as many as eight points in the second half, Dosunmu delivered — as the Illini are accustomed to by now. He went full court on a drive that put him at the free-throw line where he made both attempts. Trent Frazier stole the inbound pass to seal the victory.
Ohio’s Jason Preston scored 31 points and played like an emerging star. He’s a player to watch for the talented Bobcats (2-1), who provided a necessary challenge for the Illini.
Here are three takeaways from the Illini’s opening games.
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1. Illinois got a valuable wakeup call.
North Carolina A&T and Chicago State aren’t heavyweights and maybe provided a false sense of invincibility — if not to the Illini, at least to their fans.
Illinois opened the season Wednesday with a 122-60 victory against the Aggies and followed up by coasting to a 97-38 victory against Chicago State on Thursday.
Ohio proved to be a different class of opponent and it may have been just what Illinois needed.
The Illini on Wednesday face No. 2 Baylor in the Jimmy V Classic in Indianapolis then head to Durham, N.C., to face No. 9 Duke on Dec. 8 in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge.
Illinois can’t afford the same mistakes it made against Ohio.
The Illini turned the ball over 16 times, allowing the Bobcats to score 21 points off the miscues. They missed nine of their 24 free throws.
They shot only 6 of 15 on 3-pointers, including 2 of 8 in the first half, a problem that dogged them last season. Jason Preston helped expose some the Illini pick-and-roll defense.
But Illinois found a way to win. Coach Brad Underwood said earlier in his tenure the Illini might have let a game such as the one against Ohio snowball.
“I’d like to say this is a blessing in disguise,” Dosunmu told reporters.
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2. Illinois’ stars shine brightly.
Dosunmu registered three straight 20-point games for the first time in his career. He scored 27 points with eight assists against Ohio, after leading the way with a career-high 28 points against North Carolina A&T and 22 points against Chicago State.
He tied the game at 71 with a 3-pointer with less than 2 minutes remaining, reminding fans of his frequent heroics last season.
Center Kofi Cockburn delivered too. With 13 points and 14 rebounds, he registered his 15th double-double in 35 career games, starting his sophomore season with three straight.
He scored nine points in the second half against Ohio after Illinois started more consistently feeding him.
Their dominant play will be key this season, but they’ll need contributions and greater consistency from a team that has depth and experience.
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3. Da’Monte Williams shouldn’t be overlooked.
Senior Da’Monte Williams sometimes falls under the radar with his quiet demeanor and 2.8 point average last season.
But coach Brad Underwood has seen his value.
“My confidence has never wavered one second with Da’Monte,” Underwood said Wednesday. “He’s such a willing passer. He leads us in about every defensive category (with Trent Frazier) everyday in practice. He was the major reason we were playing as well as we were playing offensively at the end of last season.”
Williams scored 11 points and had 10 rebounds against Ohio, capping an opening trio of solid games.
He made a 3-pointer and two free throws during a vital second-half run and hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with less than a minute to play.
Williams has hit 6 of 9 3-pointers so far this season, averaging seven rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.
Contributions such as those will help keep Illinois a top-10 team.
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