INDIANAPOLIS — The drought officially ended Friday as Illinois made the most of its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013.
The top-seeded Illini dominated No. 16 seed Drexel, 78-49, at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
The Illini (24-6) will play in Sunday’s second round against either No. 8 seed Loyola Chicago or No. 9 seed Georgia Tech, who play later Friday afternoon.
Illinois started sluggishly, shooting just 1 of 6 as Drexel made 3-pointers and outhustled the Illini on the boards. The Illini soon found the accelerator, shooting 58.1% for the game.
Drexel players won’t easily forget their afternoon against Kofi Cockburn, who scored 18 points with multiple dunks. Ayo Dosunmu added 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, while Trent Frazier added 11 points.
The Dragons shot just 30.6%. Drexel (12-8) made the tournament for the first time in 25 years after winning the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament.
