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Illini Basketball

Nobody Got Killed

Whatever it was doesn’t matter. It wasn’t good or bad. And Illinois won.

You’re looking for a Silver Lining after watching a game that was both a blowout and a Cautionary Tale. Rest assured, it’s here.

Da’Monte Williams is unlikely to shoot 2-for-11 in future games. He’s unlikely to find himself running the point during B1G play. And even if he does, his experience Tuesday guarantees that he’ll be more comfortable in that role.

Ben is the Boss, man. (See what I did there?) We could also probably figure out a basketball meme for verDONKing the ball.

Coleman Hawkins will probably get fewer technical fouls & taunting warnings. Probably.

His mouth is as big as California, and his current confidence level might not fit in the entire Pacific Time Zone. No complaints here, but Brad Underwood is already assessing the value of ColeHawk’s assessments. (He wants fewer T’s assessed.)

Coleman Hawkins explains to referee Chad Barlow that he wasn’t pushing off.

Omar Payne will probably find himself comfortable on offense. His defense is entertaining enough to merit some amount of PT. He’s an intellectual, so he’s probably overthinking everything right now, as he adjusts to new information overload. We’ve all been there, haven’t we? (Excluding the 247 free board people, obviously.)

Dudes were sidelined. Belo caoched the whole game.

Ramses Melendez fears nothing. You were like that too, once. What happened to you?

Let’s hope it doesn’t happen to RJ. On the other hand, Brad Underwood ripped a new asshole for him after RJ’s three-point celebration became a defensive breakdown.

Jake got his chance to shine.

Alfonso Plummer had a better stat line than his social media response would suggest. You didn’t seem to like his game. He was fine.

Playing the most minutes of anyone from either team, Plummer failed to assassin down the avenue. But he converted 3-of-7 shots. His A-to-TO ratio was in the plus range. He rebounded from the two-spot. He stole three balls.

This win counts toward rankings and post-season slotting. Embrace it.