Illinois sophomore guard Ayo Dosonmu hit a game-winning shot to beat the Michigan Wolverines’ basketball team with only 0.5 seconds remaining at Crisler Center today, but much of the afternoon’s discussion surrounded the health of junior forward Isaiah Livers.
He returned to action for the first time since Dec. 21, and compiled seven points and five rebounds before reinjuring himself early in the second half.
The only time Livers saw the floor again was when he attempted a half court pass on Michigan’s final offensive possession of the day, with head coach Juwan Howard revealing in the postgame the junior is day-to-day.
“It just took the air out,” sophomore guard David DeJulius said while discussing Livers’ injury. “He’s a better person than he is a basketball player, and it was unfortunate to see him go down again.
“I know he’s in a dark place right now, and it’s our job to pick him up. We’ll continue to have conversations with him and talk to him, because we can only imagine how badly he wants to be out there with his brothers.
“He has our back and we’re going to have his.”
“It meant a lot [having him return],” freshman guard Franz Wagner added. “He sacrificed his body for us to come back and we’re so appreciative of him.
“He played his heart out today, and even came back in to make that last pass at the end. I just hope he feels ok tomorrow.”
Dosonmu’s game-winning shot was one of several great plays the sophomore made for the Illini, en route to a 27-point, seven-rebound afternoon.
He attempted 18 shots against the Wolverines, while no other Illinois player took more than nine.
“Ayo got a lot of easy layups, especially early, and that really got him going,” Wagner explained. “We knew before the game he was a strong right-handed driver and that we’d have to be there [to stop him].
“We had a few mental lapses where we just forgot and he got to the lane and was able to go wherever he wanted. He made some tough shots today and is a heck of a player, and we have to respect that.
“Ayo is shifty and a great ball handler, but we could have done a better job against him — you have to give him credit for this game though.
“X [Senior guard Zavier Simpson] played great defense on him on that last shot, but that’s not why we lost this game. We have to make our free throws at the end — I just missed them.”
Wagner’s two crucial misses occurred when Michigan held a 62-60 lead and only 1:17 remaining, and stood as the latest late-game mishaps that have occurred all too often during the Wolverines’ four-game losing streak.
All NCAA Tournament projections still have the Maize and Blue comfortably in the field, but DeJulius was asked afterward whether or not the season feels like it’s currently at a crossroads.
“It does,” he admitted. “We’re in a rough patch right now, and some may not be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
"We’ll come in to work tomorrow and it’ll eventually work itself out.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Wagner added. “We have everything we need in our locker room, and we’re not going to wait for anyone to pick us up.”
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