3 Key Numbers From Illinois Basketball's Win Over Washington

Things nearly got away from the Illini in an 81-77 squeaker over the Huskies, as the numbers reflect

Illinois guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (2) finishes at the rim in the Illini's 80-77 win over Washington on Sunday at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle. / University of Illinois athletics

For a game and a half of Illinois' inaugural Big Ten West Coast road trip, everything was falling into place for the Illini.

Until it wasn't.

Illinois (11-3, 3-1 Big Ten) managed to hold off Washington (10-5, 1-3) by a score of 81-77 on Sunday in Seattle, but it only just survived a fierce comeback as the surging Huskies simply ran out of clock to work with.

Although the Illini were able to close the door on Washington and impressed AP voters enough (when combined with their blowout win of Oregon earlier in the week) to land at No. 13 in the rankings, the performance in Seattle marked yet another failure to unleash their perimeter-shooting potential.

Meanwhile, the Huskies were facing a double-digit deficit nearly the entire contest, but, thanks to the hot hand of guard DJ Davis, were able to shoot themselves back into the game and even tie the score with under a minute to play.

What was the statistical story behind Illinois' struggles, as well as its eventual triumph? Let's go to the numbers:

19.2

And … we’re back. After two games of excellent shooting from three-point range (a combined 31-for-62 against Chicago State and Oregon), the Illini seemed to have finally found their ever-elusive shooting touch. Then, everything came crashing back to Earth again in a 5-for-26 (19.2 percent) performance from long distance against UW. In a season that spans more than 30 games, occasional subpar shooting performances are unavoidable. But coach Brad Underwood has built an entire system predicated on the threat and success of his club's outside shooting. The Illini simply can't continue to put up atrocious three-point numbers and expect to get where they want to go.

4

Washington guard DJ Davis – the Huskies' No. 4 – had entered the Illinois matchup having scored in double digits in four games this season, while also having been held under five points in seven games. Moreover, before Sunday, Davis had shot just 29.5 percent (18-for-61) on threes. But all the numbers flew out the window when the senior guard caught fire and poured in a season-high 31 points on 7-for-14 shooting from beyond-the-arc. Almost single-handedly willing his squad back into the game, Davis helped the Huskies erase a 10-point deficit with eight minutes left, before teammate Luis Kortright tied the game at 75 with 47 seconds left. It was a bonkers, out-of-the-blue performance for a bench player facing one of the best perimeter defenses in college basketball.

22

That was the margin for points in the paint, as the Illini scored 52 to the Huskies' 30 inside. The two main reasons behind the discrepancy: 1) Washington’s go-to offensive weapon, forward Great Osobor, was almost entirely neutralized, going scoreless in the first half and managing just nine points on 2-for-8 field-goal shooting by game's end; and 2) as expected, the Illini easily controlled the glass, outrebounding the Huskies 43-30 and parlaying that edge into 14 second-chance points. If it hadn't been for UW's relatively hot shooting (38.5 percent from three) and Illinois’ own abysmal three-point shooting, the final margin might have been much wider.

.@DravynGibbs put 'em in the spin zone 🔄

1H 9:00 | Illini 23, Washington 10
📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/tGXDUdtS2p

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) January 5, 2025

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