Illinois' Ayo Dosunmu joined elite B1G company with incredible performance vs. Nebraska
Ayo Dosunmu had a special night in Friday’s game against Nebraska.
Dosunmu put on his cape down the stretch in Lincoln. With the Fighting Illini trailing the Huskers late, the star willed his team to a 77-72 overtime victory. Dosunmu played 43 minutes and scored 31 points on 12-of-23 shooting from the floor. He also dished out 6 assists and grabbed 3 rebounds in the victory.
That monster night by Dosunmu marked just the second time in the past 25 years that a B1G player had a 20-point triple-double and followed it up with a 30-point game in consecutive contests. The other was former Michigan State standout Denzel Valentine.
In Illinois’ 75-60 win over Wisconsin last Saturday, Dosunmu scored 21 points, collected 12 boards and ended with 12 assists.
Ayo Dosunmu is the 2nd Big Ten player over the last 25 seasons with a 20-point triple-double and a 30-point game in consecutive games, joining Denzel Valentine.
He had his 4th 30-point game of the season tonight, tied for 3rd-most in a season for Illinois over the last 50 years pic.twitter.com/zKt69YWuPO
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 13, 2021
Dosunmu’s big scoring night in Lincoln also marked the fourth time this year that he has scored 30 points in a game during 2020-21 season. That ties for third-most in program history over the past 50 years, according to ESPN’s Stats and Info.
Dosunmu was one of eight B1G players recently named to the Naismith Trophy Midseason Team. He is averaging a team-high 21.7 points and 5.1 assists this year. He’s also averaging 6.2 rebound and 1.1 steals.
Illinois is ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press Poll with a 14-5 record and sits at 10-3 in B1G play.