Illinois Basketball: What We Know About Duquesne

Illinois Basketball: What We Know About Duquesne

Illinois Basketball finished off the Morehead State Eagles 85-69 in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The Illini were slow in the first half to gain traction on the defensive end of the floor and gave up easy buckets.  The Eagles were early winners on the boards as well. A recipe for upset disaster in March. Underwood spoke about his displeasure going into the half to the TV crew, and certainly, his halftime motivation got across to the team. Dain Dainja provided a massive second-half spark for Illinois and helped them pull away from the Eagles. Coming off the bench for 21 points and 8 rebounds, to put away the OVC Champions. Certainly, Preston Spradlin’s tough unit gave the Illini faithful quite the scare. However, Brad Underwood’s resilient veteran squad brought great energy to the second half, and never seemingly looked back.

Don’t get too comfortable though, Illini fans. Take a breather for now, but Illinois Basketball is in for another tough mid-major battle. This go around, vs the 11-seed Duquesne Dukes. Who, are coming off of a huge upset win over the 6-seeded BYU Cougars.

All About Duquesne

Keith Dambrot’s Dukes are riding the wave of a massive win for their program, in the round of 64. Bringing the overall record to 25-11 on their impressive season. Duquesne finished off the Cougars in a tight one, 71-67. Clinching a sweet tournament win for Dambrot, who plans to retire at the end of the Tournament at age 65. Big congratulations and respect of course to Coach, on a great career. Which, consists of a  NCAA tournament win, as well as a 2024 Atlantic 10 championship.

Dae Dae Grant, the 2024 Atlantic 10 most outstanding player of the year, led all scorers vs the Cougars. Putting up 19 points in 36 mins, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. For scouting report purposes, this is a guy that can really hurt Illinois. Grant averaged 16.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, and 3.5 apr throughout 2024. As well as shooting 93% from the free throw line, and 41.4 percent from three-point range. Dae Dae is a consistent producer, who can make you pay from anywhere on the floor. If Illinois defense is lackadaisical, they will be in trouble with #3.

Jimmy Clark III leads the Atlantic-10 in steals, averaging 2.37 steals per game. A stud on the defensive end of the floor, that is not shy whatsoever on offense. In fact, much like the trend of this season, Jimmy came in a close second to Dae Dae Clark in production vs BYU. Clark posted 11 points, 2 Rebounds, 4 assists vs the Cougars. Certainly, a ton of focus will be on Grant for the Illinois defense. The way things have shaken on that end of the floor for the Illini, Jimmy has an opportunity to get his.

Need the Bigs

The Illini will need a big showing from Coleman Hawkins and Dain Dainja on Saturday. Fousseyni Drame is a really solid front court player, who was feeling himself vs BYU. Drame scored 8 points, and snagged 8 rebounds for the Dukes. Not monsteras stats, but another player who has the potential to make you pay if the defensive effort is poor. Offensive rebounding was an early issue for the Illini vs Morehead State, and a Forward like Fousseyni can certainly get the ball rolling to win on the boards.

Final Thought

Illinois needs to, and should win this game. The current line is set at Illinois -9.5 for a 7:45 tipoff in Omaha on TNT. An incredible opportunity for Brad Underwood and company, as the Illini storm into a quad-2 matchup for a sweet 16 ticket. However, the Dukes are no punk. This is a 11-seed, that still feels like they have a lot left to give their head coach before he settles into retirement.