Upset Avoided: No. 8 Illinois Holds Off Ohio 77-75

No. 8 Illinois escaped with a 77-75 win by scoring six of the game’s final eight points.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said he wanted to see how his team would react when faced with adversity. 

He might have learned Friday to be careful with his wishes.

Ohio nearly became the second unranked team today to pull an upset of a Top 10 ranked team as No. 8 Illinois escaped with a 77-75 win by scoring six of the game’s final eight points.

Earlier in the day, No. 4 Virginia was knocked off by San Francisco 61-60 in the HomeLight Classic in Connecticut. 

Ayo Dosunmu hit the pair of game-winning free throws after nearly going 94 feet with 7.7 seconds left and the contest on the line for the home Illini. Dosunmu waved through a full-court man-to-man trap by Ohio to get to the basket with the Illini (3-0) down one and his 26th and 27th point of the afternoon showcased another example of his history of clutch performances.

“I knew we were fine,” Dosunmu said about his mood coming out of that timeout down one point. “I knew the time and score. I knew once Da’Monte (Williams) set the screen on the (power forward), it was going to be an open lane for me to get to the rim.”

NO. 8 ILLINOIS SURVIVES!

Ohio took @IlliniMBB to the brink behind 31 points from Jason Preston, but @AyoDos_11 answered with 27 and held on for a 77-75 win: pic.twitter.com/hRMXu16haE

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 27, 2020

Ohio (2-1) was led by junior guard Jason Preston, who proved to be arguably the best perimeter player on the floor in this matchup, as the future NBA Draft prospect posted 31 points, eight assists and six rebounds along with no turnovers in 36 minutes of action. Despite a consistent effort by Dosunmu on the defensive end to check Preston, the 6-foot-4 guard constantly got open looks off ball screen action against a lifeless and confused Illinois defense.

Despite getting in early foul trouble, Williams produced his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds including a key 3-point shot to give the Illini a 74-73 lead with 35 seconds left in the game. Williams, who had been previously shy at showcasing any offensive production in his first two years at Illinois, is now 15 of 26 from beyond the 3-point arc dating back to the Maryland home game on Feb. 24, 2020.

“I actually got on (Williams) earlier in the game because they were blitzing my ball screens all night and I put (the ball) right in his shooter’s pocket and he didn’t shoot it,” Dosunmu said. “He hesitated and I said to him ‘c’mon, Da’Monte you’re a great shooter, I see you putting the work in everyday so be ready to shoot’. You saw down the stretch we believed in him and he stepped up there and made it.”

Illinois avoided its first loss to an unranked non-conference opponent as a Top 10 team since Dec. 28, 2002 when the then-No. 7 Illini lost at Memphis 77-74.

“We’ve got to learn from this,” Underwood said. “You’re playing three games in three days and your (previous two) margin of victories was 50-some and you (can’t) think it’s going to be like that every time. It did go perfect. We found a way to win and we got tested.”

Asked if he would’ve attempted that particular shot earlier in collegiate career, a defiant Williams said yes because of Ohio’s defensive rotation toward the paint. The dribble penetration by Illinois senior guard Trent Frazier allowed for the former Associated Press first-team Class 3A all-state selection from Peoria Manual High School to shoot without thinking about the situation.

“Yeah, I was wide open,” Williams said with a smile. “So, just step in and shoot it with confidence.”

Ohio had 49-41 lead with 13 minutes and 47 seconds left in the game, which served as a direct contrast to the 62-point and 59-point blowout wins that Illinois had to start this highly anticipated 2019-20 campaign. The Bobcats, which won 17 games last season in the first year under head coach Jeff Boals, used a seemingly non-stop combination of Preston and fourth-year junior forward Ben Vander Plas to nearly complete the third victory over a Top 10 team in school history and first one since 1971.

Kofi Cockburn produced his third straight double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds but the 7-foot, 290-pound center was constantly victimized on both ends of the floor with how Ohio played ball screen action.

“They played like a veteran team and we played a little bit uninspired,” Underwood said. “I’ve told our team all summer and fall that there will be no external motivation. If you’re a guy that is going to need an outside motivator then you’re really going to get exposed.”

After a 3-0 week to start this season, Illinois is scheduled to travel for the first time in 2020-21 when they’re slated to face No. 2 Baylor in Indianapolis on Dec. 2.