Big Ten Basketball: Power rankings for end of 2019-20 season

By Adam Childs | Mar 18, 2020

EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN - MARCH 08: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates a second half three pointer with Xavier Tillman Sr. #23 while playing the Ohio State Buckeyes at the Breslin Center on March 08, 2020 in East Lansing, Michigan. Michigan State won the game 80-69. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/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) /

. . Fighting Illini . 4. team. 481.

MVP – Ayo Dosunmu

Freshman Kofi Cockburn came on the scene with a vengeance this year averaging 13.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. He was a force down low and could completely take over a game. He was vital to the Illini offense, but he still wasn’t the MVP of this team.

That would belong to Sophomore Ayo Dosunumu. He was the glue to the Illinois offense and when he was on the Illini were nearly impossible to beat. Dosunmu made a big splash as a freshman last year but was even better this year. He averaged 16.6 points per game while also grabbing 4.3 rebounds and dishing out 3.3 assists per game. He was the one guy that could completely take over a game that leads us to the Illini’s best moment of the year.

Best Moment – Beating Michigan 64-62 in Ann Arbor

The Illini entered the game with a five-game winning streak and had already beat the Wolverines in Champaign. Illinois controlled the first half, but the game went back and forth in the second half. Michigan led late but the Illini would tie it and after a Jon Teske miss, it set up Dosunmu to do this:

It was points 26 and 27 for Dosunmu in a masterful game. It showed that the Illini could go on the road and pick up a huge win. One in which Cockburn didn’t play his best but the rest of the team picked him up. It was a great game and an even better shot by Dosunmu.

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