Illinois vs. Rutgers: 5 storyline for matchup of top-25 Big Ten teams

Ayo Dosunmu’s decision making

There is no question as to whether point guard Ayo Dosunmu is going to help Illinois win a lot of basketball games this year. When the 6’5 guard decided to withdraw his name from the NBA Draft, the Fighting Illini quickly was recognized as not only one of the top teams in the talented Big Ten Conference but in all of Division I.

Dosunmu is putting up outstanding stats as he averages just under 23 points, over seven rebounds, and more than five assists per game, which leaves little doubt he will lead Louisville to more than a few blowout victories. In the early goings of the 2020-21 season, there has been no question as to Illinois’ ability to blow-out teams, but there is a question about winning the close ones.

It would be unfair to any player to solely cherry-pick stats in order to claim they may not come through in the clutch. This becomes especially unfair when the said player, connected on a three-pointer then made two three-throws in the last 1:15, such as Dosunmu did in a victory over Ohio.

In the Illinois loss to No. 2 Baylor, a fantastic defensive team, Dosumnu connected on just four of fifteen two-point field goals, while getting to the rim just four times, often settling for contested, if not poor shots. Within three seconds Dosunmu hit a three got a steal and made a lay-up to give Illinois a 39-37 lead, which was followed up with two missed lay-ups and a turnover as Baylor went on to stretch their lead to 67-54 over the next 10 minutes.

In their three-point loss to Missouri, Dosunmu’s stats in the last three minutes consist of two missed layups, a turnover, and a missed three-pointer. Even the blow-out victory over Minnesota, Dosumu had four turnovers while making five of fourteen field goals and attempting zero free-throws over his 30 minutes played.