Kofi's B1G Victory: Cockburn Dominates Iowa Leading Illini Into Big Ten Final

After each of his first three career matchups versus Iowa and the two-time conference player of the year, Kofi Cockburn would likely admit he wasn’t satisfied with his performances.

Until Saturday.

In the 82-71 win in the semifinals of the Big Ten Conference Tournament in a domed football stadium on national television, the Illinois sophomore center took his game to a new level against arguably the nation’s most heralded college basketball player. For the first time in his career against Iowa, Cockburn left the playing floor as the most dominant big man following a performance that included a game-high 26 points, eight rebounds in just 24 minutes.

“I thought Kofi was just great,” Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said on Kofi Cockburn. “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.”

On the defensive end, Cockburn forced Iowa center Luka Garza to attempt 21 shots to get to his total of 21 points.

“I wanted to make him score through me, always putting my body on him,” Cockburn said. “I wanted to limit his angles on me and if he was able to score over me or through me, then you nod your head and say congratulations.”

In his previous three matchups versus Iowa, Cockburn averaged just nine points and nine rebounds while Garza managed to produce at least 19 points in each of the three games. From the opening tip, Cockburn proved to be the most impressive player in the paint by scoring 18 of his 26 points in the first half that saw Illinois take a 45-37 lead into the halftime locker room.

“You know he’s a tremendous big man,” Garza said. “We’re both being physical with each other. It’s just it’s what I’m going to have to deal with and I’ve been dealing with in the Big Ten for a while now.”

Saturday’s total for Cockburn marked the 7-foot Jamaican’s second-highest scoring total of the 2020-21 season, and ninth 20-point game this year. Cockburn, who is easily the biggest presence to roam the lane for the Illini program, ranks second in the nation with 16 double-doubles this season. He was coming off his first double-double since Feb. 16 in Friday night’s quarterfinal win over Rutgers, finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

“(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. “That changes things. It would have been nice to have had another big, no question about it.”

Ayo Dosunmu finished with 18 points, game-high nine assists and seven rebounds. In the two games where the conference’s and nation’s top two players on the floor together, Dosunmu managed to showcase his many unique skills on both ends of the floor. Dosunmu, who is likely to be named Big Ten Tournament Most Valuable Player if Illinois wins the title game Sunday, is now averaging 20.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists on the year, which would make him the first NCAA player in the last 11 seasons to average 20 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Illinois earned its 12th Quad 1 win, which is the most of any team in the nation, and the Illini (22-6) advanced to the Big Ten Tournament championship game for the first time since 2008.

Andre Curbelo added 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals as the freshman guard finally played up to the atmosphere and scenario of a Big Ten Tournament semifinal round that boasted four programs ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

The win over No. 5 Iowa was Illinois’ fifth consecutive victory over a top 10 team this season and ties the school record for top-10 wins in a season, first set by the 1988-89 squad that reached the Final Four.

Illinois will play Ohio State Sunday in the league tournament championship game for a 2:30 p.m. tip in what will be the last game before the NCAA tournament selection show on CBS.