No. 6 Illinois Smacks No. 10 Duke in ACC/Big Ten Challenge

DURHAM, N.C. - The No. 6 Fighting Illini jumped out to a 17-4 lead on No. 10 Duke and never looked back, beating the Blue Devils, 83-68, on Tuesday night as the marquee matchup in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

It was a balanced attack by the Illini with six players scoring in double figures, led by Ayo Dosunmu's 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. He also pulled down 12 rebounds in the win.

Illinois shot 58% from the field.

Kofi Cockburn added 13 points for the Fighting Illini, who led by 14 at halftime and didn't let the margin slip below double figures after the break, handing the Blue Devils their second nonconference home loss in a week while playing without their famously hostile Cameron Indoor Stadium crowd amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Illinois led by 19 points early in the second half, aided by an outside shooting effort that had the Illini make 7 of 11 3-pointers - including 6 of 8 in the first half as they took control.

Up next, Illinois heads to Missouri for Braggin' Rights on Saturday at 7 pm CT. 

Notes

• Illinois handed Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski just his 11th nonconference home loss during his Duke career (297-11), and just his sixth since 1984.

Non-ACC Teams to Win at Cameron vs. Coach K
12/5/1981 vs. App State (75-70)
12/29/1981 vs. Davidson (75-72)
11/28/1981 vs. Vanderbilt (76-75)
1/5/1983 vs. Wagner (84-77)
1/12/1983 vs. Louisville (91-76)
12/2/1995 vs. Illinois (75-65)
12/8/1996 vs. Michigan (62-61)
2/2/6/2000 vs. St. John's (83-82)
11/26/2019 vs. Stephen F. Austin (85-83)
12/1/2020 vs. Michigan State (75-69)
12/8/2020 vs. Illinois (83-68)

• Illinois becomes the first non-ACC team to win two games at Cameron Indoor Stadium against Coach K in his 41 seasons. 

• Illinois' 15-point win is tied for Duke's largest nonconference home loss under Krzyzewski.

Duke's Largest Non-ACC Home Losses Under Coach K
15 Illinois (83-68) 12/8/2020
15 Louisville (91-76) 1/12/1983
10 Illinois (75-65) 12/2/1995

• Illinois handed Duke its first-ever home loss in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge (9-1). 

• Illinois improved to 9-13 all-time in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and 4-6 on the road. The Illini snapped a three-game losing streak in the Challenge with their first win since beating N.C. State at home in 2016, and earned their first Challenge road win since defeating Maryland in 2011.

• Illinois improved to 28-27 all-time in top-10 match-ups. 

• Illinois earned just its third road victory ever in a top-10 match-up, with the previous two both coming by the Flyin' Illini in 1989.

Illinois Road Wins in Top-10 Match-Ups
No. 8 Illinois 70, No. 3 Indiana 67 – 3/5/89, Bloomington, Ind.
No. 4 Illinois 89, No. 8 Michigan 73 – 3/11/89, Ann Arbor, Mich.
No. 6 Illinois 83, No. 10 Duke 68 – 12/8/2020, Durham, N.C.

• Brad Underwood beat a top-10 team for the fourth time during his time at Illinois, with wins at No. 10 Duke tonight, No. 5 Michigan (12/11/19) and at No. 9 Penn State (2/18/20) last season, and the initial marquee win over No. 9 Michigan State (2/5/19).

• Illinois opened the game with a 24-10 lead on its way to a 43-29 halftime lead. 

• Illinois never trailed on the evening. The Illini led for a total of 39:12, with the game was tied for the remaining 48 seconds. The game was tied 0-0 for 23 seconds and tied 2-2 for 25 seconds.

• Illinois led by double digits for the final 33:38.

• Illinois' 58% shooting (29-50) is the program's best mark in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and the 9th-best by any team in the history of the event. 

• Illinois shot 63.6% from 3-point range, draining 7-of-11 treys. That is Illinois' best shooting performance from long distance since hitting 64.3% (9-14) vs. Michigan on 111/17.

• Ayo Dosunmu had his third career double-double and second this season with 18 points and career-high 12 rebounds. Dosunmu's 12 defensive rebounds set an Illinois record for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

• Dosunmu is only the fourth player to have 18+ points, 12+ rebounds, and 5+ assists in a game this season and he is the first to do it on the road.

• Dosunmu entered the day as the only player in the nation averaging 20-6-6 (minimum 3 games played). He kept pace, as his season averages are now 22.6 points per game, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.0 assists. 

• Illinois had six players score in double figures: Dosunmu-18, Kofi Cockburn-13, Andre Curbelo-12, Giorgi Bezhanishvili-11, Trent Frazier-10, Da'Monte Williams-10. Adam Miller, meanwhile, added nine points.

• With 15 points vs. Baylor and 11 vs. Duke, Bezhanishvili has now posted back-to-back games in double figures since Jan. 18-21 of last season.