Busting Brackets
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Big Ten Basketball power rankings: Trying to make sense of 12 good teams

By Austin Walther

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - JANUARY 23: Tom Izzo the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans gives instructions to Rocket Watts #2 against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on January 23, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - JANUARY 23: Tom Izzo the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans gives instructions to Rocket Watts #2 against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on January 23, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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ANN ARBOR, MI – JANUARY 25: Ayo Dosunmu #11 of the Illinois Fighting Illini (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MI – JANUARY 25: Ayo Dosunmu #11 of the Illinois Fighting Illini (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /

2. Illinois Fighting Illini 15-5 (7-2)

I wasn’t sure if Illinois was going to meet my expectations. They lost to Arizona by 21 way back in November. The Illini couldn’t beat a power-conference team until their second Big Ten game against Michigan. Mind you, at the time the Wolverines were fifth in the country. Illinois then lost to Missouri on a neutral court. They got throttled by Michigan State on the road and were 1-2 in the Big Ten. Illinois hasn’t lost since.

They’re currently riding a six-game winning streak and are tied for first in the Big Ten. Illinois held Purdue to 37 points. They gutted out a road win against Wisconsin, beat Rutgers, won at Mackey and the Crisler Arena. So the Illini swept both Purdue and Michigan. They have a chance at splitting with Michigan State and Maryland later on. Illinois entered the polls three weeks ago at 24 and has risen to 19th in the country.

Illinois may not have been able to get it done in the non-conference, but they’re doing alright in the Big Ten. Ayo Dosunmu is giving Cassius Winston a run for his money for the best point guard in the league. Trent Frazier can strictly rely on being a shooting guard and is doing a great job at it. The best thing for the Illini this season is actually freshman Kofi Cockburn. The man is an animal in the frontcourt. He has taken so much pressure off of Giorgi Bezhanishvili.

Dosunmu dropped 18 at Purdue and 27 at Michigan. The game against the Boilermakers was the first double-double of his career. He didn’t have his best game as a point guard against Michigan, but he was able to go off with only two three-pointers. Frazier also only hit two and Cockburn and Giorgi combined for just nine. But the fact that Dosunmu and Andres Feliz combined for 42 on only two three-pointers means Illinois can beat you in so many different ways.

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