3-2-1 RECAP: Illini pound The Citadel 85-57

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Sometimes it’s just as simple as being bigger, stronger and more skilled.
Illinois used its size for 52 points in the paint in a dominating 85-57 win over The Citadel Wednesday.

The Citadel (1-4) was missing its leading scorer after Hayden Brown suffered an injury in their win at Southeast Missouri the previous night and the lack of a scoring punch showed early and often. The Bulldogs shot just 7 of 36 from the field in the first half and missed 15 of its first 18 3-point attempts.

Illinois (4-1) was content to throw the ball into the post to either Kofi Cockburn or Giorgi Bezhanishvili. Cockburn has four double-double games already this season after the freshman 7-footer from Jamaica finished with an effortless 18 points and 17 rebounds in just 24 minutes. Once again, Illinois started slow offensively at State Farm Center as they shot just 37 percent from the field and missed its first nine 3-point attempts.

"I'm not satisfied with Kofi," Bezhanishvili said with a smile. "I always tell him that. I'm still not. Next game I will tell him that I want him to go get 20 rebounds."

Bezhanishvili exploited Citadel’s four-guard lineup for 16 points as the sophomore from the nation of Georgia is still trying to get in an offensive rhythm in the first month of the season.

After playing a strict seven-man rotation against Hawaii two nights earlier, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood decided to open the bench against the overmatch Southern Conference opponent. The first points of the college career Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk came in a first-half stretch where Underwood was trying to build the confidence of his inexperienced frontcourt reserve depth behind fifth-year senior Kipper Nichols.

Here are three major takeaways from this win for the Illini:

1) This was the game to get Kofi and Giorgi more confidence

It would be the biggest understatement possible to suggest Illinois had a massive size and athleticism advantage over The Citadel. Therefore, quoting Kofi Cockburn himself, a double-double effort wouldn’t be surprising in the least “because I’m seven-feet” and the Jamaican native finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds. The 17 rebounds broke an Illinois freshman record that was previously held by Deon Thomas (who was doing color analyst for the Illini Radio Network tonight).

"Obviously a record night for Kofi and I think he's continuing to progress and realize the ball doesn't just come to you (but) you have to go get it," Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said.

It should be noted as a minor nitpick that Cockburn did still miss too many shots from point-blank range just like he did in the first half against Hawaii. However, this was also a game to get Giorgi Bezhanishvili’s post game reinvigorated and the native of the Republic of Georgia had several hook shots go down in a 16-point, nine-rebound effort. If any game was designed to get the Illini bigs involved, it was this one. However, as another nitpick on Bezhanishvili’s development as a stretch power forward, Bezhanishvili struggled on his defensive rotations as The Citadel went to a consistent four-out, one-in offense.

"I thought Giorgi did a nice job on the glass and he had a great purpose and intent to go rebound tonight," Underwood said.

2) Another slow offensive start for the Illini

Once again at home, the Illini struggled to find the bottom of the net and get in any offensive rhythm from the opening tip. Wednesday night’s culprit wasn’t turnovers necessarily but a lack of confidence on shots whether they were near the basket by Cockburn and Bezhanishvili or outside shots by Ayo Dosunmu or Trent Frazier. Dosunmu is now 5 of 19 from 3-point range and as a team, Illinois has only connected on 28 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

3) Da’Monte Williams played the clutch bench player role Wednesday night

The Peoria native was again passive on the offensive end but hauled in nine rebounds Wednesday including three offensive rebounds. This was a role that was filled by fellow wing bench player Alan Griffin two nights ago against Hawaii.

"Now I need that consistency, absolutely," Underwood said. "We really challenged Da'Monte and Da'Monte is a really big part of this basketball team. Da'Monte is so versatile and we need him to be a major contributor. Both of those guys are elite rebounders at their position."

Williams will be vital in Big Ten Conference play to play beyond his 6-foot-3 size defensively and crash the glass and against a smaller Citadel team, the do-it-all-except-score option for the Illini bench was solid Wednesday night in 22 minutes of action.