Ayo Dosunmu had 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds while sixth-ranked Illinois shot 58% to beat No. 10 Duke 83-68 on Tuesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Kofi Cockburn added 13 points for the Fighting Illini (4-1), who jumped to a 14-2 lead and never looked back to regroup from last week's loss to No. 2 Baylor.
“We had a lot of time, a lot of preparation to get better and we went hard,” Dosunmu said. “We did what good programs are supposed to do: bounce back.”
The Fighting Illini led by 14 at halftime and didn't let the margin slip below double figures, 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.
Matthew Hurt scored 19 points to lead the Blue Devils (2-2), who shot 40% and made 5 of 22 3-pointers.
“We got beat by a team that’s better than we are and older, more mature,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said, “and they kind of imposed their will on us. ... We’re not there yet. We’ve got a lot to learn.”
