CHAMPAIGN — Giorgi Bezhanishvili has regularly downplayed his own individual accomplishments in favor of what his teammates have done this season. Even more so if a big game for the Illinois freshman forward came in an Illini loss.
The spotlight has lingered a little longer on Bezhanishvili in the last few days. A record-setting 35-point performance in Illinois' 99-94 overtime victory at home against Rutgers on Saturday drew it. Earning Big Ten Player of the Week honors Monday — while fellow freshman Ayo Dosunmu was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week — meant it stuck around.
Even in the immediate aftermath of becoming Illinois' new freshman single-game scoring leader, though, Bezhanishvili had already turned his attention to what was next.