Bezhanishvili's Career & Season Game-By-Game Stats (PDF)

2020-21 Junior

• Top frontcourt reserve played in all 31 games, averaging 5.1 points and 2.7 rebounds
• Shot 54.5% from the field (67-123) and made 3-of-6 three-pointers
• Scored in double figures five times
• Second on team with 43 offensive rebounds
• 12 points (3-4 FG, 6-6 FT) and 6 boards in Big Ten Tournament title game win over No. 9 Ohio State (3/14), his second-highest scoring and rebounding total on the season
• 7 points on 3-4 FG in win at No. 23 Wisconsin (2/27)
• 9 points and 3 boards in just 12 minutes in win at Minnesota (2/20)
• 10 points on 5-7 FG in win over Northwestern (2/16)
• 7 points on 3-4 shooting in win over No. 19 Wisconsin (2/6)
• 9 points on 4-6 FG vs. No. 21 Ohio State (1/16)
• 7 points on 3-3 shooting including a big second-half three in win over Indiana (12/26)
• 8 points on 4-5 FG in win at Penn State (12/23)
• 11 points on 5-7 FG at No. 19 Rutgers (12/20)
• 4 points and 5 boards in win over Minnesota (12/15)
• 11 points and 5 rebounds in win at No. 10 Duke (12/8)
• Season-high 15 points on 7-10 FG, with 13 scored in first half, vs. No. 2 Baylor (12/2)
• 7 points and season-best 7 rebounds in opener vs. North Carolina A&T (11/25)

2019-20 Sophomore

• Played in all 31 games, starting first 24
• Sixth on team in scoring (6.8 ppg) and third in rebounding (4.8 rpg)
• Fourth on Illini in assists (1.6 apg)
• Six points and four rebounds in win over No. 18 Iowa (March 8)
• Six points and six rebounds in win over Indiana (March 1)
• Six points, six boards, four assists and two blocks in win over Minnesota (Jan. 30)
• 10 points and five boards in win at Purdue (Jan. 21)
• 13 points on 6-9 FG in win over Northwestern (Jan. 18)
• 8 points on perfect 4-4 shooting in win at Wisconsin (Jan. 8)
• Career-high tying five assists vs. North Carolina A&T (Dec. 29)
• 12 points on 6-10 FG and eight rebounds in win over No. 5 Michigan (Dec. 11)
• 8 rebounds and career-high 5 assists vs. Miami (Dec. 2)
• 14 points on just four shots (7-8 FT) with four assists vs. Hampton (Nov. 23)
• Season-high 16 points and tied season high with 9 boards vs. The Citadel (Nov. 20)
• 10 points, season-high 9 rebounds and three assists vs. Hawaii (Nov. 18)
• 11 points and career-high two 3-pointers on two attempts in opener vs. Nicholls (Nov. 5)

2018-19 Freshman

• Big Ten Player of the Week – Feb. 11
• Only player to start all 33 games on the season
• Ranked third on Illini in scoring with an average of 12.5 points (24th in Big Ten)
• Recorded the fifth-best scoring average by a freshman in Illini history
• Led team in rebounding (5.2 rpg) and blocked shots (26)
• Finished 50th in the NCAA in field goal accuracy, shooting 54.2 percent (169-312)
• In conference games only, posted 13.5 ppg (16th in B1G) and 5.6 rpg on 54.8 percent shooting (seventh in B1G)
• Scored in double figures 21 times, including 10 of the last 11 games and 17 of the last 23
• Five games with 20 or more points
• Averaged 15.7 ppg over the last 11 games (173)
• Set Illini all-time freshman single-game scoring record with career-high 35 points on 14-18 shooting with seven rebounds in win over Rutgers (Feb. 9) 
• 29 of his 35 points came during the second half and overtime, as he made 12-of-13 field goals and 5-of-5 free throws after intermission
• Was one of only four players nationally to score at least 35 points in a game without attempting a 3-pointer
• Broke the previous UI freshman scoring record of 34 points by Deon Thomas that had stood for 29 years
• Career-high 10 rebounds in college debut vs. Evansville (Nov. 8)
• 17 points and six boards vs. No. 3 Gonzaga (Nov. 19)
• First career 20-point game with 22 points at Notre Dame (Nov. 22)
• 18 points on 8-10 shooting with team-high seven boards (five offensive) at Indiana (Jan. 3)
• 20 points on 8-12 FG with game-high 8 rebounds (six offensive) in win over Minnesota (Jan. 16)
• 20 points and team-high eight rebounds (six offensive) vs. Wisconsin (Jan. 23)
• 16 points in win over No. 9 Michigan State (Feb. 5)
• 13 points (6-9 FG), seven boards and career-high four blocked shots in win at Ohio State (Feb. 14)
• Recorded first career double-double with 16 points and career-high tying 10 boards vs. Penn State (Feb. 23)
• Game-high 26 points on 12-15 shooting in Big Ten Tournament (BTT) first-round win over Northwestern (March 13), setting an Illinois BTT single-game record with 12 field goals

High School

• Fourth-leading scorer at The Patrick School, averaging eight points per game
• Scored season-high 22 points vs. Linden (Jan. 16, 2018)
• Tallied 16 points in Union County Tournament championship game vs. Roselle Catholic (Feb. 24, 2018)
• High school coach was Chris Chavannes
• Played for Klosterneuburg in the Austrian Basketball League in 2017, averaging 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists

Personal

• Born Nov. 16, 1998
• Majoring in communication
• Mother is Lali Bezhanishvili
• Raised in Rustavi, Georgia before moving to Vienna, Austria at age 14
• Moved to Hillside, N.J. for senior year of high school
• Has one older brother, Davit
• Played soccer growing up and was in a dance club from age six through 12 where he mastered a number of dances including the rumba, salsa, samba, jive, cha cha, tango, English waltz, slow waltz and foxtrot
• Favorite player is Nikola Jokic and wears No. 15 in honor of him
• Lists Coach Otari as the person who most influenced his career, “He coached me in Georgia from age 6 through 14 and made me fall in love with basketball.”
• Hobbies include “taking a walk, exploring new areas, and taking a bike ride”
• Favorite foods are khinkali and pasta
• Favorite campustown spot is Dunkin’