Trailing nearly entire contest, Illini survive Mocs’ upset bid
PITTSBURGH — The result didn’t make sense to Brad Underwood. For the better part of 39 minutes Friday night, the Illinois coach watched his fourth-seeded team chasing 13th-seeded Chattanooga.
The Southern Conference champion Mocs, with alum and Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens cheering them on, smothered Illini All-america center Kofi Cockburn. They took double-digit leads in each half. They responded every time the Illini made a push.
The Illini didn’t panic. They dug in behind Cockburn and guard Alfonso Plummer, whose go-ahead free throws with 12 seconds to go helped them pull out a 54-53 NCAA Tournament win that maybe they didn’t deserve but will certainly take.
“I told (Chattanooga coach) Lamont (Paris) they played better than us, and we just happened to have more points than them at the end, and we led at the right time,” Underwood said.
The only time it mattered.
The Big Ten co-champions will play fifth-seeded Houston on Sunday after narrowly avoiding becoming the seventh team to fall to a double-digit seed.
“We just kind of hung in there,”
Illinois center Kofi Cockburn finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds while absorbing 11 fouls Friday night.
Underwood said.
Plummer scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, including three 3-pointers that kept Illinois (23-9) within striking distance. The 7-foot Cockburn, fending off bodies left and right, finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds while absorbing 11 fouls. His putback with 45 seconds left gave the Illini the first of just two leads they held all night.
“It wasn’t frustrating,” Cockburn said. “I’ve been going through that all year. Probably all my whole career. I think it was just another challenge. This is the NCAA Tournament, and things get tough.”
Chattanooga still had two chances to pick up its first NCAA Tournament win since 1997 in the closing seconds but sophomore star Malachi Smith missed twice.