Game 5: No. 6 Illinois 83, No. 10 Duke 68 - Grades & Player of the Game

Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmu gets the Player of the Game honor from Illini Now/Sports Illustrated after this 83-68 win at Duke.

Player of the Game: Ayo Dosunmu - As if there was any other choice for this honor. The junior preseason All-America selection was easily the best player on the floor and it he made it look very smooth posting his 18 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, one steal and a block in 35 minutes. Illinois never trailed and Illinois’ guards outscored Duke’s guards 59-31. It should also not go without mentioning that Dosunmu’s defensive effort on DJ Steward, a former Illini 2020 recruiting target from Chicago, forced the freshman into five turnovers in a frustrating night for the former Whitney Young High School star.

“I do believe that I’m the most complete player in the game,” Dosunmu said. “It was put up or shut up. It was one of those games. A lot of talk was with us in the offseason. We just played two great teams and we accepted the challenge.”

Who are we at Illini Now/Sports Illustrated to argue with Dosunmu's comments. Mike Krzyzewski certainly didn't. 

"We just got beat by a team that is better than we are. They're older, more mature & they imposed their will on us," the Duke head coach said. "We’re not as good as they are. We’re not there yet. They’re just a good team. They were last year and they are right now.”

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NOTEWORTHY:  Illinois handed Krzyzewski just his 11th non-conference home loss during his Duke career (297-11).

Non-ACC Teams to Win at Cameron vs. Coach K

12/5/1981 - Appalachian State (75-70)

12/29/1981 - Davidson (75-72)

11/28/1981 - Vanderbilt (76-75)

1/5/1983 - Wagner (84-77)

1/12/1983 - Louisville (91-76)

12/2/1995 - Illinois (75-65)

12/8/1996 - Michigan (62-61)

2/2/6/2000 - St. John's (83-82)

11/26/2019 - Stephen F. Austin (85-83)

12/1/2020 - Michigan State (75-69)

12/8/2020 - Illinois (83-68)

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Backcourt

Illinois: A

Duke: D-plus

The only reason this group for the Illini doesn't get an 'A+' is the play of freshman Andre Curbelo as he came off the bench to provide Illinois with a much-needed third ball-handler to handle Duke's 2-2-1 press. Curbelo needs to cut down on the turnovers (yes Mr. Curbelo, you're traveling so listen to your coach and use a jump stop) but Illinois bigs likely cost him about three or four more assists by not being able to finish highlight-worthy passes. Curbelo finished with 12 points, two assists, a steal, a block and a season-high five turnovers. It should also be noted that after his hot shooting start, Adam Miller was affecting the game on the defensive end and his dive for a loose ball was something Illinois coach Brad Underwood said was his favorite play of the game. Illinois exposed Duke's guards Tuesday night for being careless with the basketball, immature in terms of shot selection and well, besides Steward when left wide open, they can't make perimeter shots. 

Illinois freshman guard Andre Curbelo had nine quick points in the first half and then the Peoria native found other ways to affect the game in the second half of the 83-68 win at Duke / Photo courtesy of Duke University athletics department and the Atlantic Coast Conference

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Frontcourt

Illinois: A

Duke: C-minus

After being a near non-factor last week vs. Baylor due to the foul trouble problems, Kofi Cockburn was anything but that Tuesday night. Normally the statistics overshadow potentially an average game from the 7-foot, 290-pound center but in this game I don't think his 13 points, eight rebounds and two blocks truly define his contribution. Cockburn was excellent in identifying how Duke's pick-and-roll action should be played defensively and you never saw once Cockburn look lost as Duke used several hedge screen-the-screener actions to try and get a cut to the bucket. The combination of Giorgi Bezhanishvili and Cockburn together worked nearly perfectly as people sometimes forget how effective in the post the Georgian can be whether he's finding two points for himself or as a passer out of a double-team action. The junior forward had another double-figure night with 11 points, five rebounds in 22 minutes. Matthew Hurt, who came in as Duke’s leading scorer, finished with a game-high 19 points but arguably one of the best pick-and-pop forwards in college basketball was 0-for-6 from beyond the three-point arc. The complete non-factor Tuesday night was Duke 7-foot freshman Mark Williams as he finished with the same amount of fouls as points (two) in just seven minutes of action.

Illinois center Kofi Cockburn and forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili combined for 24 points and 13 rebounds in a 83-68 win at Duke. 

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Bench

Illinois: B

Duke: C

Brad Underwood decided to go with a seven-player rotation Tuesday night and that didn't leave much production beyond Curbelo and Giorgi on the Illini's bench. Luckily for the Illini, they may just have the most talented backup big and point guard in the nation and when Underwood shortens his bench later in the year (minus maybe more minutes from Coleman Hawkins as he gets more and more comfortable), I think you just saw how Underwood plays to work his rotation. 

Duke got 22 points off its bench but none of its backup guards were able to swing the momentum on the defensive end to handle Illinois' dribble penetration. 

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Overall

Illinois: A

Duke: C-minus 

Less than four seasons into his tenure at Illinois, Brad Underwood has a better roster of players than Duke. And it isn't because Duke is bad or took a significant plunge in recruiting talent. Think about that for just a second. The mix of Illinois' veteran leadership, talent and an influx of freshmen energy makes them a Final Four contender.