Illinois Basketball: Takeaways from dominant victory at Duke Blue Devils

Illinois basketball is now 2-0 all-time at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The three-point shot among other things led to the Duke Blue Devils’ demise.

Illinois basketball and the Duke Blue Devils matchup was the nightcap on the first day of ACC/Big Ten Challenge and it did not disappoint.

Coming into this game, the sixth-ranked Fighting Illini had a tough 82-69 loss to the 3-0 Baylor Bears. Ayo Dosunmu struggled to get going in the game and the Bears forced Kofi Cockburn into foul trouble. That opened up the floodgates for Baylor’s offense to flourish.

The 10th ranked Blue Devils, on the other hand, redeemed themselves with a 76-54 win against the Bellarmine Knights (1-1).

The last time these two teams played one another was in 2007. Duke won that game 79-66 behind Gerald Henderson’s  23 points, five rebounds, and two blocks. Brian Randle scored 16 points for the Fighting Illini.

The good news for them is that they’ve never lost in Cameron Indoor Stadium. In 1995, the Fighting Illini beat the Blue Devils 75-65 behind Kiwane Garris’ 18 points, four assists, and three steals. Current Pittsburgh Panthers head coach and former Duke guard Jeff Capel went off for 27 points, four rebounds, and two steals.

An intriguing matchup in this game was going to the guard play of both teams. How was Duke going to defend the trio of Dosunmu, Adam Miller, and Trent Frazier? Duke forwards Matthew Hurt and Jalen Johnson were going to have their hands full with Cockburn unless they employed the same strategy that helped Baylor.

Cockburn, Da’ Monte Williams, and Miller gave the Fighting Illini some inside-outside scoring action to jump out to a 12-2 lead. Three early turnovers by the Blue Devils led to seven points for the Fighting Illini.

The Blue Devils struggled to get shots to fall shooting 2-of-8 from the field and Hurt was the Blue Devils’ lone source of offense early on.

Midway through the first half, Illinois held a 24-10 lead. Miller led all scorers with nine points on 3-of-3 shooting from the perimeter.

The only high point for Duke was Johnson blocking a potential Cockburn two-handed slam. Slowly, the Blue Devils chipped away at the Fighting Illini lead and cut to eight, 24-16, under eight minutes left until halftime.

The Fighting Illini headed to the locker room with a 43-29 lead. Miller was the high point man with nine followed by preseason AP all-American Dosunmu’s eight points, eight rebounds, and four assists.

Illinois basketball dominated from the beginning of this game and cruised to an 83-68 victory. They owned the paint 38-32 and benefited from converting on fast break opportunities. They won that battle 24-8. The Big Ten is stomping the ACC right now 6-1 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Duke struggled to shoot the basketball

Duke was awful to start the game. They needed the Cameron Crazies. They shot the ball poorly because the Fighting Illini did such a great job on defense. As the first half went on, Duke was able to take advantage of inside shots and get to the foul line.

Jeremy Roach and Hurt were the only bright spots for the Blue Devils as the first half came to a close. They had 17 points combined. The Blue Devils finished the first half shooting 37 percent from the field and were a dreadful 0-of-7 from the perimeter.

Anyone would want to be a fly on the wall to hear Coach K chew out his team for their poor shot selection. At the same time, They’re a young team who faced another with much more experience. One would think that the Blue Devils would’ve had more energy on a big stage.

Four minutes into the second half a Jordan Goldwire converted an and-one opportunity cut the Fighting Illini lead to 12, 48-36. He received a nice back door pass from Roach to get that basket. Those were the kind of plays they needed to get back in the game.

They didn’t knock down their first three-pointer until the 12:33 mark when DJ Steward did so from the right corner. The three-ball was their Achilles heel. It’s true what they say in basketball. You live by the three or die by the three.

Illinois’ guards played the way they needed to

As I mentioned earlier, Duke needed to make sure they contained Dosunmu, Miller, and Frazier. They didn’t do that. Oh, wait. I forgot to mention Williams. He drained a three to start the second half scoring for the Fighting Illini pushing his point total to eight. Dosunmu reached double-double territory under 15 minutes left in the game. He had 10 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists at that point.

At the nine-minute mark, Dosunmu drove the baseline to hit a floater from the right side giving the Fighting Illini a 62-46 lead.

Seven Illinois players scored at or close to double figures in this matchup. Duke couldn’t do anything with them defensively. This just showed how strong this unit is for the Fighting Illini. They had a balanced performance across the board from a team that will be in contention for the Big Ten Championship and a Final Four appearance.

Cockburn and Giorgi Bezhanishvili dominated the Blue Devils frontcourt

Cockburn and Bezhanishvili are the best Big Ten frontcourt tandem. Yes, I said it. They not only hurt opposing defenses together on the floor. They can do it separately also. They both run to the rim on the fast break, they can bully people in the post and secure rebounds with little to no problem. The Blue Devils had no answer for them on either side of the court. They combined for 24 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks.

When Illinois basketball gets into conference play, we’re going to see how well the pair can do now that they have experience on their side. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cockburn and Bezhanishvili find themselves on All-Big Ten team lists at the end of the season.

Next stop for the Fighting Illini, Columbia, MO to play the Missouri Tigers (3-0) on Saturday. The Blue Devils will stay home to play the Charleston Southern Buccaneers (1-1).