Illini make turtle soup by topping Maryland, 76-64
By Jeff Mayfield

[January 07, 2022]  TextThe only thing colder than the Illini’s first half shooting last night was the temperature outside, the hearts of a couple of girls I used to date back in the day (if you’re reading this now I didn’t mean you-you know who you are!), and making people show health cards to attend [the NFL didn’t even make us do that]!

In spite of foul trouble, bad offense, and a struggling first half defense, the Illini built a 14-point first half lead that totally evaporated and eventually resulted in a 4-point halftime deficit. It was not a thing of beauty and it looked like the Illini we’re headed for trouble…big trouble.

But then it was time for Ayo’s appearance.

Current Chicago Bull and former Illini great Ayo Dosunmu gets his jersey lifted into the rafters at the State Farm Center in Champaign.

Yes, it was Ayo Dosunmu night and they retired his No. 11 jersey and lifted up into the rafters to a few rousing and richly deserved standing ovations!

Ayo Dosunmu sees his retired jersey now in the circle of fame! Riding shotgun next to him, Chicago Bull great-DeMar DeRozan.

Then my partner noticed that one of his Bulls teammates had made the drive down from Chicago and sure enough the half-season NBA MVP [in our opinion] DeMar DeRozan, was in the house (see pictures). That jazzed the crowd up even more.

Apparently, it woke the Illini up. They got back in the game, shot better in the 2nd half, Kofi played all 20 minutes and the Illini pulled away winning 76-64!

Three stars

Kofi Cockburn=IF Kofi is not the best player in college basketball, he’s on a very short list. AND since you brought that up, Kofi did just make the 25-player John Wooden Watch list for player of the year. He finished this contest with 23 points, 18 rebounds, and a few cracked skulls that may have happened because of his thunderous dunks! Cockburn is the country’s 2nd leading scorer at 22.5 ppg and is 3rd in rebounding at 12.5 rpg! He is one of only two players nation-wide averaging 20+ points per contest and 10+ rebounds per game!

Trent Frazier=Trent came up big when the Illini were trying to get back into the game and catch-up with Maryland. He hit back-to-back 3-pointers that electrified the crowd and gave Illinois a little breathing room. He finished the night with 16 points-14 of them in the 2nd half rally.

Da’Monte Williams/Coleman Hawkins=we don’t always have a clear three. In this case Da’Monte is on a roll of just making good decisions, hustle plays, and keeping possessions alive. Check out his line-9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists and he played 37 MINUTES! This after the Illini were playing their 2nd game in 48 hours!

Coleman Hawkins had one of his better games this season and the Illini need Hawkins to keep developing and improving. Coleman contributed 8 points and 8 big rebounds including 6 on the offensive end while only committing 1 turnover! Nice job!

Shout out to

Alphonso Plummer=who just continues to do whatever this team needs to excel. He’s not only one of the best transfers I can ever remember at Illinois, he might be one of the best ever in college basketball. He collected 12 points, 3 assists, and 4 rebounds. None were bigger than the one he pulled down in traffic with the Terps on a mild comeback attempt just under the 4-minute mark. We love what this man brings to the nightly table!

Omar Payne=we should give him the Brian Cook award. Every time the whistle blows you look around and somehow the call is on Omar?! Anyway, his stat line will not blow you away, but he is getting more comfortable with his role and he is giving the team good production in his limited opportunities. We’re appreciative & we say-keep it up!

Crowd=it was a brutally cold night and anyone in their right mind was buried in a blanket next to the fireplace listening to Brian Barnhart and Deon Thomas bring you all the action. Not us and 13k others who braved the frigid temps to support the good guys. To be out on a night like that-you have to really love college basketball. Nice going people!

The Illini outrebounded Maryland 45-27 with a huge offensive rebound advantage and only committed 7 turnovers on the night-one of their lowest totals of the season-it is nice to see improvement in that category!

The Illini are now 11-3 and 4-0 and have actually won 10 Big Ten games in a row. That is the most since the ’04-’05 teams strung a streak of 25 games which sounds impossible in this league! AND the LDN was there for most of them-so I know it to be true!

Next up for the Illini-a trip to Lincoln, Nebraska to take on the Cornhuskers Tuesday night on the prairie!

[By JEFF MAYFIELD]

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