Luka Doncic was not the only one who put up a notable triple-double Tuesday night. There was also Coleman Hawkins of the Illinois Fighting Illini, who stitched together a fantastic stat line to help Illinois basketball wallop the Syracuse Orange right in Champaigne, 73-44.
Hawkins did it all for Illinois basketball, as he scored 15 points, collected 10 rebounds, and dropped 10 dimes in 29 minutes in the victory over Jim Boeheim's squad. While it wasn't the 40-point triple-double that Doncic posted for the Dallas Mavericks against the Golden State Warriors on the same night, Hawkins' trip-dub was just the fifth ever in the history of the Illinois basketball program.
Hawkins already got the feeling that the night was going to be extra special even before the second half, per Jeremy Werner of 247 Sports.
“I know I shouldn't be doing that, but I knew if I played hard it could happen,” Hawkins said after the game.
The win over Syracuse has Illinois basketball improving to 6-1. The Fighting Illini recently lost to the Virginia Cavaliers in a neutral-site showdown but have now gone 2-0 since that defeat.
Hawkins could have scored more points but he looked to prioritize setting up his teammates for good scoring opportunities, which is also a major reason why Illinois owns one of the best effective field-goal percentages in the nation, though, defense seems to remain as the team's biggest asset.
Coming up next for the Fighting Illini is a game on Friday against the Maryland Terrapins, which would be Illinois to open conference play.