BRING ON THE BUCKEYES
Illini in Big Ten final after Kofi more than holds own vs. Garza
INDIANAPOLIS — Illinois center Kofi Cockburn learned some hard lessons dueling against Iowa center Luka Garza as a freshman last season.
On Saturday, he stood up to the Hawkeyes’ career scoring leader — and won.
Cockburn scored 18 of his 26 points in the first half, fought through foul trouble in the second half and challenged Garza physically while leading the No. 3 Illini past No. 5 Iowa 82-71 on Saturday. The victory sends Illinois to the Big Ten Tournament championship game.
‘‘I thought Kofi was just great,’’ Illini coach Brad Underwood said. ‘‘I thought the job he did in the first half, he was just dominant. And not just because he had 18 points, but because of his defense.’’
Illinois (22-6) has won six consecutive games, with three of the victories coming against top-10 foes. If the Illini can win one more — against No. 9 Ohio State on Sunday — they would claim their first tourney title since 2005.
But it was the matchup between Cockburn and Garza that was one of the prime reasons Illinois’ boisterous fans trekked across the state line to Indianapolis. They made themselves at home, cheering loudly each time Cockburn made a play and booing the foul calls against the Illini.
And Cockburn made sure Garza worked for everything he got. Garza finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Hawkeyes (21-7), but he went 8-for-21 from the field and dealt with his own foul trouble in the second half.
‘‘It’s tough,’’ Garza said. ‘‘You know he’s a tremendous big man. We’re both being physical with each other. It’s just what I’m going to have to deal with and I’ve been dealing with in the Big Ten for a while now.’’
The difference was Cockburn’s supporting cast. Ayo Dosunmu added 18 points, seven rebounds and nine assists and Andre Curbelo 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
A 9-0 run midway through the first half gave Illinois a 22-14 lead it never surrendered. The Illini led 45-37 at the half, then opened the second half on an 8-2 spurt that featured two big baskets from Jacob Grandison.
Iowa couldn’t get closer than five points rest of the way.
‘‘I wanted to make him score through me, always putting my body on him,’’ Cockburn said of Garza before turning his attention to some unfinished business. ‘‘It’s that Mamba mentality, that Kobe [Bryant] mentality that we’re not through. We’ve got a long way to go.’’
Big picture
Iowa: The Hawkeyes won’t go away quietly in the NCAA Tournament. They will pose matchup problems for opponents who are unfamiliar with Garza’s size, versatility and supporting cast.
Illinois: The Illini might be playing their best basketball at the perfect time. They have tied a singleseason school record with five top-10 victories, and the last three came on the road or on neutral courts.
Stat pack
Iowa: Jordan Bohannon had 20 points and six assists and Joe Wieskamp 12 points and seven rebounds. The Hawkeyes were outscored 52-24 in the paint.
Illinois: Trent Frazier had nine points and five assists and Da’Monte Williams nine rebounds. The Illini won despite shooting 3-for-15 from three-point range.
He said it
‘‘[Cockburn] is such a handful, and we were so worried about Luka getting into foul trouble because we knew we needed Luka in the game,’’ Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. ‘‘It would have been nice to have had another big [man], no question about it.’’