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 But it can also put you out walking
the ledge. Wednesday night’s game w/ the Minnesota Golden Gophers
played out exactly the way you would like to script every single
Illini basketball game.
Get off to a good start. Check. Play lockdown defense. Check. Battle
& block out on the boards and refuse to give up an inch. Check. Run
the offense with intentionality and precision. Check. In fact, every
category that a fan would love to see was in evidence last night.
Check.
Ayo Dosunmu continues to prove that there is a lot of substance to
the hype as he led the way for the Illini by tallying 23 points a
day before his 19th birthday. And what can you say about Giorgi
Bezhanishvili? All he did was put in 20 points, gather in 8
rebounds, and literally slapped 5 w/ four imaginary Illini players
after sinking some free throws. It’s hard not to love a player who
plays with that much passion.
The reality is Minnesota never knew what hit them! The Illini shot a
mind boggling 56% from the field for the game! [to top of second column] |
The Illini out-rebounded the Gophs 39-26. But what was even more
encouraging was that the Illini out-hustled, and out-scrapped
Minnesota. It was only the 4th loss for the Gophers all season
long.
You saw glimpses earlier in the year and you hoped that the
Illini would start putting it all together sooner rather than
later. Sadly, it wasn’t soon enough, but you can begin to see
that there is solid potential for the future.
The Illini will not be able to bask in their glory for long. A
very tough road tilt awaits versus Iowa on Sunday. [By JEFF MAYFIELD]
Respond to the writer at
jeffqmay@gmail.com.
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