The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ILLINOIS CRUISES PAST DREXEL
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Illini to face Loyola Chicago next,
INDIANAPOLIS – Kofi Cockburn
muscled his way to 18 points and Illinois cruised past 16th- seeded Drexel 78- 49 Friday in the Illini’s first NCAA Tournament game as a No. 1 seed in 16 years.
Illinois ( 23- 6) will face eighth- seeded Loyola Chicago in the second round of the Midwest Regional on Sunday.
Maybe that will be more of a test for the Big Ten champions. Drexel ( 12- 8) never really had chance at containing the 7- foot, 285- pound Cockburn, who was 8 for 11 from the field.
“I thought it was a matter- of- fact game,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said.
The Illini are back in the NCAAS for the first time since 2013 with a team full of first- timers to March Madness after the pandemic canceled last year’s tournament.
“It was a really good experience, especially for me,” Cockburn said. “It was just about enjoying the moment.”
James Butler – 6- 8 and 242 pounds – drew the daunting task of trying to handle Cockburn, without much success. The senior did have 10 points and 10 rebounds for Drexel.
The Dragons closed the season with four straight victories, including three during a surprising run through the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, to earn a bid to the NCAAS for the first time since 1996.
They managed to stay competitive for about seven minutes, taking an 8- 7 lead.
Indiana Farmers Coliseum, home of IUPUI of the Horizon League and a minor league hockey team, hosted the Midwest Region games Friday. The 82year- old building that was the site of the Beatles’ only concert in Indiana normally holds about 6,800 for basketball, but capacity was capped at 1,200 for its first NCAA games because of COVID- 19 restrictions.
Illini fans, excited to see the their team as a top seed for the first time since a Final Four run in 2005, seemed to get their hands on most of the tickets. They dotted the stands with blue and orange and cranked up an “I- L- L” chant late in the game.
It took their team a few minutes to find a groove.
“I thought we played with a bit of nervous energy early,” Underwood said.
All- American Ayo Dosunmu didn’t score his first points until he swooped in for a layup with 6: 19 left in the first half.
Still sporting a black Batman mask to protect the broken nose he suffered last month, Dosunmu finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
Cockburn got loose for 10 straight Illinois points in the first half, capping his personal run with a slam off a flip from Dosunmu.
“It’s not just his size,” Drexel coach Zach Spiker said of Cockburn. “It’s his ability to score in different ways.”
The Illini closed the half on a 32- 13 run.
Oregon State 70, Tennessee 56
INDIANAPOLIS – Oregon State played up the underdog role all season and is now the latest No. 12 seed to win an opening- round NCAA Tournament game.
Roman Silva scored 16 points and the Beavers took advantage of Tennessee’s icy perimeter shooting to beat the fifthseeded Vols.
Oregon State ( 18- 12) became the first Pac- 10/ 12 school to win the conference tournament after being picked to finish last. The Beavers are the 51st 12th- seed to take down a fifth- seed since the NCAA Tournament bracket expanded in 1985.
The 7- foot- 1 Silva bulled his way through the Vols for an 8- for- 8 night after struggling in the Pac- 12 Tournament. Oregon State hit seven 3s in the second half to win their first NCAA Tournament game since reaching the 1982 Elite Eight.
Loyola Chicago 71, Georgia Tech 60
INDIANAPOLIS – Lucas Williamson scored 21 points in a dynamic performance by the defensive whiz, All- America forward Cameron Krutwig added 10, and eighth- seeded Loyola Chicago beat No. 9 seed Georgia Tech to mark a triumphant return to the NCAA Tournament.
The surprise national semifinalist in 2018, the Ramblers ( 25- 4) were relegated to the NIT the following year and missed out on the tournament – along with everyone else – when it was canceled due to COVID- 19 last season.
They wasted no time getting back to their winning ways, though, and now get No. 1 seed Illinois on Sunday.
After trailing 43- 40 midway through the second half, Loyola heated up from beyond the arc and clamped down on defense, forcing Georgia Tech ( 17- 9) into a series of missed shots and ugly turnovers during the decisive final five minutes.
Keith Clemons hit a 3- pointer that gave the Missouri Valley champs a 6254 lead with 31/ 2 minutes to go, and Buddy Norris added another from the top of the key to make it 67- 56 with just over 2 minutes left. The ACC Tournament champs eventually ran out of answers as their eight- game winning streak came to an end.
Norris also had 16 points for the Ramblers, who went 11 of 27 from beyond the arc and shot 47% from the field overall.
Jordan Usher scored 15 points, Michael Devoe had 14 and Jose Alvarado 13 for the Yellow Jackets.