INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Ayo Dosunmu led Illinois with 18 points and Giorgi Beshanishvili added 15 in No. 5 Illinois' loss to No. 2 Baylor, 82-69 in Indianapolis on Wednesday night. The game was part of the annual Jimmy V Classic.
The raucous applause and loud cheers coming from the benches helped ratchet up the intensity level in a top-5 matchup that was essentially played to a draw for almost 30 minutes.
Adam Flagler scored 18 points and was one of four players in double figures for No. 2 Baylor, which pulled away late.
Following Baylor's two made free throws with 12:51 left that broke a 43-all tie, the Bears scored six straight points. After Illinois made a 3-pointer, Baylor scored five more points and then took control with another run, this time 9-0.
When it ended, Baylor led 65-51 with 7:31 left and the Illini could not close the gap.
The Fighting Illini wanted to bounce back with a strong performance after a close game against Ohio last week. Coach Brad Underwood's team certainly accomplished that much. It just didn't pull off the kind of signature win it envisioned - but that may be only a matter of time.
UP NEXT
Illinois hosts UT-Martin on Saturday.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Illinois fell to 10-9 all-time in top-5 match-ups, with its last win a 72-57 victory over No. 4 Louisville in the 2005 Final Four (4/2/2005).
- Ayo Dosunmu led the Illini with 18 points on 6-of-18 shooting. In five career games against top-5 opponents, Dosunmu is averaging 14.0 points on 42.3% shooting (25-59) and adding 5.8 rebounds per game.
- Giorgi Bezhanishvili had 15 points, equaling his total of the first three games of the season. It was Bezhanishvili's most points since scoring 16 against The Citadel 11/20/2019. He had 13 first-half points against Baylor.
- Today marked Illinois' first top-5 match-up since the 2005 NCAA Championship game, when the top-ranked Illini fell to No. 2 North Carolina, 75-70 (4/4/2005).
- Illinois' No. 5 ranking is the highest for the program since owning the No. 1 spot in the final poll of 2005.
