Illinois dominated the paint Tuesday night with a career night from 7-foot sophomore Kofi Cockburn for a 92-65 victory against Minnesota in the Big Ten opener at the State Farm Center.
Cockburn scored a career-high 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the No. 13 Illini (5-2, 1-0) while intimidating the Gophers (6-1, 0-1) in the post. Illinois outscored Minnesota 48-14 in the paint, including a 22-2 edge at halftime, and outrebounded the Gophers 53-35.
The Illini recovered with ease from Saturday’s loss to Missouri to start their quest for a conference championship on the right foot.
After getting little support for Ayo Dosunmu in the three-point loss to Missouri, Illinois received more balanced contributions against the Gophers.
Dosunmu, coming off his own career-high 36-point game, had 10 points and seven rebounds and played strong defense, while Adam Miller scored 14 points and Trent Frazier 10. Andre Curbelo had nine assists.
Minnesota guard Marcus Carr, who entered averaging 23.8 points, was held to 16 points on 3-of-13 shooting. Both Gach, who was averaging 15.3 points, didn’t score until a free throw in the final five minutes and finished with one point.
Illinois held the Gophers to 27.5% shooting
Cockburn and his fellow starters got to spend the last several minutes celebrating on the bench.
Illinois has had a roller-coaster schedule lately, with losses to No. 2 Baylor and No. 16 Missouri sandwiching a victory against No. 21 Duke.
