Illinois Fighting Illini at Michigan Wolverines

Dosunmu's shot lifts No. 21 Illinois over Michigan 64-62

"The one thing Ayo has is 6-(foot)-5," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said.

Dosunmu took advantage of his 5-inch height edge on Simpson, sinking a contested jumper from the free throw line with 0.5 seconds remaining to give No. 21 Illinois a 64-62 victory over Michigan on Saturday. The Illini extended their winning streak to six and moved into sole possession of first place in the Big Ten for the moment.

"Simpson, he played great defense. He couldn't have guarded that any better," Dosunmu said. "But I just got into my pull-up, got into my moves, and then just knocked the shot down."

Illinois (15-5, 7-2) won despite a quiet game from freshman big man Kofi Cockburn, who fouled out after scoring five points with three rebounds. Michigan (11-8, 2-6) has dropped four in a row and may again be without forward Isaiah Livers because of an injury.

The Wolverines let the game slip away at the foul line, where they went 0 for 5 in the final four minutes. Illinois tied it at 62 on a pair of free throws by Trent Frazier with 52.3 seconds left. Then Jon Teske missed inside for Michigan, and the Illini had the ball back.

"Coach just said, `No ball screen," Dosunmu said. "He told me, just make sure I got the last shot. He believed I was going to make the right play."

Michigan had one last possession with under a second left, but the Wolverines didn't get a shot off.

Dosunmu finished with 27 points.

"His effort out there was great," said coach Juwan Howard, who said Livers is day to day. "Energy from the crowd when his name was called just shows how much he's a huge part of this team's success."

Simpson led Michigan with 17 points.

BIG PICTURE

Illinois: It's been quite a run for the Illini, who won in Ann Arbor for the first time since 2010. Illinois was tied with Michigan State for first place entering the game. The Spartans have a chance to pull even again when they play Sunday.

SLOW START

Michigan trailed 34-30 at halftime and did not have a single assist in the first half. The Wolverines were 1 for 11 from 3-point range in the half and finished 4 of 17 on the day.

Simpson had three of Michigan's five assists for the game.

"I think he's the leading assist guy in the country, and they have five assists as a team and none in the first half," Underwood said. "If you would have told me before the game that we're going to hold Michigan to five assists, I would have liked our chances."

POLL IMPLICATIONS

This is Illinois' highest AP ranking since it was No. 12 in January 2013, and the Illini will probably move up after beating Purdue and Michigan this week.

UP NEXT

Illinois: The Illini host Minnesota on Thursday night.

Michigan: The Wolverines travel to play Nebraska on Tuesday night.

---

Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister

---

How can I watch Illinois vs. Michigan?

• TV Channel: Illinois at Michigan 2021 College Basketball, week 12, is broadcasted on FS1.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo Free trial.
  Try Vidgo for free.