Illini suffer letdown
Cincinnati overcame an early 15-point deficit to blow out No. 14 Illinois 71-51 on Monday night in the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Illini (2-2) looked as if they were going to blow out the Bearcats (5-0) in the first 10 minutes.
Kofi Cockburn, who returned from a three-game suspension for violating NCAA rules, had a big part in it.
The 7-foot, 275-pound center, who had a team-high 18 points along with seven rebounds, bullied his way to six straight points to open the game, and the Illini raced to a 19-4 lead. At one point, Cockburn had outscored Cincinnati 12-8 as the Illini built a 23-8 advantage nearing the midpoint of the first half.
That’s when Bearcats coach Wes Miller made a couple of subtle adjustments that got them on track.
They slowed Cockburn with physical double-teams in the post, and they began jumping the passing lanes. At one point, the Bearcats held Illinois without a field goal for nearly seven minutes. They pieced together a 14-1 run of their own during the stretch, and David DeJulius made a couple foul shots just before halftime to give Cincinnati a 34-31 lead.
The Illini’s slump endured well into the second half.
Jeremiah Davenport hit a three-pointer to open the half, and Illinois proceeded to miss 10 consecutive field-goal attempts at one point as the hot-shooting Bearcats went on a 22-5 run.
Providence 77, Northwestern 72
Nate Watson scored 16 points to lead five in double figures as the undefeated Friars (5-0) never trailed and beat the previously unbeaten Wildcats (4-1) in the Roman Legends Classic in Newark, New Jersey.
Boo Buie scored 23 points on 8-for-15 shooting and Pete Nance added 20 to lead Northwestern.
Providence built a 36-27 firsthalf lead and opened the second half on a 19-10 run that included a Watson alley-oop dunk to stretch the advantage to 55-37 with 11:22 remaining.
A 7-0 surge helped pull Northwestern to within five points inside the final minute, with Buie’s three-pointer making it 75-70 with 12 seconds to play. Noah Horchler then made a pair of free throws to seal it.
Ohio State 79, Seton Hall 76
Meechie Johnson Jr. made a three-pointer with 2.3 seconds left and the Buckeyes (4-1) beat the No. 21 Pirates (3-1) in the Fort Myers Tip-Off.
E.J. Liddell led Ohio State with 28 points, making all 10 of his free throws and shooting 8-for-17 from the floor.
Freeman-Liberty honored again
DePaul guard Javon FreemanLiberty picked up his second consecutive Big East player of the week honor.
Freeman-Liberty continued his impressive start to the season, averaging 26 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals while playing all 80 minutes in two games against Rutgers and Western Illinois.
Citadel coach collapses
The Citadel coach Duggar Baucom, 61, was taken to a hospital after collapsing barely a minute into Monday night’s 107-81 loss to No. 5 Duke.
He was conscious as he was helped out of the gym.