The Latest Breaking News from Illini

It was intense and physical from the start, threatened — briefly — to turn pretty great in the second half but ultimately, perhaps inevitably, turned the Cougars’ way while putting the Big Ten co-champions’ weaknesses under the harsh glare of the spotlight.

Senior guard Trent Frazier cut the Fighting Illini’s deficit to four points as they headed into halftime.

The Illini led for just 25 seconds of their first-round win over the Mocs.

Alfonso Plummer made two free throws with 12 seconds left for the winning points. Coleman Hawkins blocked a shot at the other end before 13th-seeded Chattanooga’s best player, Malachi Smith, misfired on the game’s final attempt.

Win or lose, the success of this Ramblers heyday is forever cemented. But the Illini have to get something done.

CHICAGO — Illinois’ chances of getting to the Final Four in New Orleans rest on the big shoulders of Kofi Cockburn, which should make Illini Nation feel pretty good heading into Friday’s first-round game against Chattanooga.

And if time is running out, the score is close and the ball is looking for a hero to send it spinning toward the rim? “I’ll be ready,” Plummer says.

What do we ever really know as we plunge straight into the deep end of another March Madness?

Trent Frazier and Coleman Hawkins wore sunglasses to their news conference Sunday after getting the word Illinois had earned a No. 4 seed in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament, where they’ll take on 13th-seeded Chattanooga in a first-round game at 5:50 p.m. Friday in Pittsburgh (TNT).