No. 3 Illinois achieved one significant goal. The following one will be considerably more difficult.
As the Fighting Illini celebrated their first Big Ten Tournament title since 2005 with a 91-88 extra time victory over No. 9 Ohio State on Sunday, they immediately turned the concentration to their No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and the opportunity it presents.
”It was crazy, thinking about all the things we’ve accomplished and knowing how I came on my visit with coach (Brad) Underwood and I told him these are the things we can accomplish,” Ayo Dosunmu said after being named the tourney’s Most Outstanding Player. “So to get up there, cut that net down and see that No. 1 seed come up there, it’s just an unreal feeling.”
Particularly given the oddities of this season.
In spite of playing the regular season before minimal fans, the Illini (23-6) raised the prize under the mid-court video board and watched the selection show with a throng of loud, orange-clad fans inside Lucas Oil Stadium.
Everything appeared to be totally adjusted for the deep and versatile Illini.
Dosunmu, Kofi Cockburn and Andre Curbello all scored 16 focuses. Cockburn and Dosunmu each had nine bounce back and they made the vital plays in additional time. Cockburn sank the thumbs up free tosses with 1:39 to go, Dosunmu followed that with a burdensome 15-footer with 50 seconds left to make it 84-81 and Illinois at last fixed it at the free-toss line.
Illinois will begin its next journey against sixteenth cultivated Drexel on Friday, having won seven straight by and large and 14 out of 15 with six sequential successes up and over 10 adversaries.
Duane Washington Jr. had a profession high 32 focuses and Justice Sueing added 22 as the Buckeyes would not disappear in spite of the various occasions Illinois seemed, by all accounts, to be in charge.
Rather than wilting in their fourth game in four days and being without forward Kyle Young for the second sequential game, Ohio State (21-9) consistently retaliated. Mentor Chris Holtmann anticipated that response from his group, which acquired a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“They have that resiliency, they have it, this group has that,” he said. “If you’ve followed us, you know that.”
In the wake of missing their initial nine shots and falling into a mid 27-10 shortage, Ohio State got inside 40-35 at the half and as close as 47-45 right off the bat in the subsequent half. At the point when Illinois replied with a 10-1 hurry to make it 57-46, the Buckeyes again energized and even took a 67-65 lead with 5:35 left in regulation.
The Illini answered with seven straight yet at the same time couldn’t take care of it. furthermore, Sueing’s three-point play with 23.6 seconds left tied the score at 77. Two major protective plays constrained extra time and afterward Cockburn and Dosunmu conveyed, finishing one part of this season and starting another.
“It’s time to make history,” Dosunmu said. “It’s time to dig deeper, to focus in a little more, but winning this Big Ten championship is great.”
BIG PICTURE
Ohio State: They didn’t win the title however the fifth-cultivated Buckeyes overperformed assumptions. They snapped a four-game losing streak by dominating three matches in three days, beat ordinary season alliance champ Michigan and head into the postseason with lots of momentum.
Illinois: The Illini are huge, quick and solid — making them a real public title competitor. Also, subsequent to being closed out of the standard season crown, they were determined to procure some equipment in Indy. Since they have, they need to add a couple of additional to the assortment prior to leaving town.
STAT PACK
Ohio State: C.J. Walker had 16 focuses, six helps and four bounce back. E.J. Liddell had 12 focuses, seven bounce back and four helps. … Holtmann said he couldn’t say whether Young will play in the NCAAs. He was hit in the head by an incidental elbow Friday. … The Buckeyes tumbled to 4-1 unequaled at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Illinois: Curbello likewise had six bounce back and five helps and Giorgi Bezhanishvili had 12 focuses. … Da’monte Williams made three 3s and got done with 12 focuses while Trent Frazier had 10. … Illinois broke the single-season school record with six successes up and over 10 groups.
ALL-TOURNEY TEAM
Dosunmu and Cockburn were joined in the all-competition group by Washington and Liddell from Ohio State and Iowa’s Luka Garza, the association’s player of the year.
UP NEXT
Ohio State: Takes on No. 15 seed Oral Roberts, the Summit League champion, Friday in the South Region.
Illinois: Opens NCAA Tournament play Friday against sixteenth cultivated Drexel, the Colonial Athletic Association champ.