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For this sixth time this college basketball season, Ayo Dosunmu has recorded a double-double.
The first-team All-American selection scored 17 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 6 assists in Illinois’ 78-49 win over 16-seed Drexel in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. It was the seventh double-double Dosunmu has recorded in his career.
It was another strong case for Dosunmu to be named college basketball’s National Player of the Year.
Everyone was pitching in for the Fighting Illini in Friday afternoon’s win. Kofi Cockburn ended the game with 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting, while grabbing 5 rebounds. Trent Frazier scored 11 points, 9 of which came in the opening half and Adam Miller also hit double figures with 10.
Illinois got production off the bench from Andre Curbelo, who had 8 points and 5 assists and Da’Monte Williams who added 4 points and grabbed 4 rebounds.
The Illini played well on both ends of the floor on Friday, holding Drexel to under 31% shooting for the game and allowing the Dragons to get to the free throw line just X times. On the other end of the court, Illinois knocked down 57% of its shots. The Illini did most of their work on the interior, making just 2-of-6 shots from 3-point range.
With the victory, Illinois has now won 15 of its last 16 games. They will play the winner of Loyola-Chicago and Georgia Tech with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB