With a chance to secure an outright Big Ten title on Tuesday night, the Michigan Wolverines fell flat on their face.
From the opening tip, the fourth-ranked Fighting Illini were the ones who brought the energy and effort. It didn’t matter that the game was in Ann Arbor, nor did it matter that Illinois took the floor without National Player of the Year candidate Ayo Dosunmu. The Illini broke the game open in the late stages of the first half, took a double-digit lead into the break and didn’t look back after that.
On one bench, hoots and hollers defined a statement win.