Cockburn's Career Night Knocks Out Minnesota

By Matt Haufe
FightingIllini.com

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - In the Big Ten season opener, Kofi Cockburn scored a career-high 33 points and led the No. 13 Fighting Illini (5-2, 1-0 Big Ten) to a 92-65 victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Ayo Dosunmu tallied 10 points and 7 rebounds, and Adam Miller added 14 points. Andre Curbelo led the team with 9 assists.

The Gophers (6-1, 0-1 Big Ten) were led by redshirt-junior Marcus Carr (16 points) and junior Liam Robbins (10 points).

The Illini were down 16-8 early, but followed with a 32-13 run to finish the first half with the lead. After the break, the Illini continued to pour it on with Kofi Cockburn scoring 11 points in the first eight minutes of the second half to put the game out of reach for the Gophers.

HARD IN THE PAINT

The Illini outscored the Gophers in the paint 48-14. This included the Illini holding Minnesota to zero points in the paint for the first 18:59 of the game, and held the Gophers to just two points in the paint in the first half.

DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORING

Illinois again had 4+ players in double-digit scoring, marking the fifth occurrence this season. In games where the Illini have 4+ players in double-digits, the Illini are 5-0.

UP NEXT

The Illini travel to Piscataway, NJ on Sunday, Dec. 20 to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Tipoff is scheduled for 12 PM CT and will be broadcasted on ESPN2 and the Busey Bank Illini Sports Network.

POSTGAME NOTES

• Tonight marked Illinois' largest victory in a Big Ten opener since Jan. 5, 1984, when the Illini also defeated Minnesota by 27 points (80-53). 
• Sophomore Kofi Cockburn poured in a career-high 33 points to go along with 13 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season and 16th of his career. 
• Cockburn shot 12-of-15 from the field and added 9 free throws on 15 attempts. 
• Cockburn is the first NCAA player this season to record at least 30 points with 13 rebounds.
• Illinois' 27-point margin of victory ties its largest against a Big Ten opponent since a 95-68 win over Minnesota on Jan. 16, 2019.
• Illinois led by as many as 36 points tonight, equaling its largest lead over a Big Ten team since having a 36-point advantage over Minnesota on Jan. 16, 2019.
• Illinois held Minnesota to 27.5% shooting, the Gophers worst shooting percentage since making 23.9% against Wisconsin on Feb. 28, 2012, in a 52-45 loss. 
• Illinois shot 53.1% from the field, marking the fifth time in seven games on the season that the Illini have made at least 50%. Illinois entered the game ranked 11^th in the NCAA in field goal percentage.
• Cockburn's 33 points tonight following Ayo Dosunmu's 36 points at Missouri on Dec. 12 gives Illinois back-to-back games with 30-point scorers for the first time in four years (Malcolm Hill, 32 points vs. IUPUI, Dec. 6, 2016, & Tracy Abrams, 31 points vs Central Michigan, Dec. 10, 2016).
• Freshman Adam Miller turned in his fourth double-digit scoring effort with 14 points – including a 4-of-9 mark from behind the arc.
• Dosunmu and senior Trent Frazier each reached double figures with 10 points, with Dosunmu adding seven rebounds and five assists. 
• Frazier did the majority of the defensive work on Marcus Carr, the Gophers star point guard. Carr entered the game averaging 23.8 points but managed just 3-of-13 shooting on the night. 
• Freshman Andre Curbelo nearly had a double-double, finishing with 9 points and a career-high nine assists, the most assists by an Illini in a game this year.
• The Illini outrebounded the Gophers 53-35 for a +18 margin. Illinois entered the game ranked eighth in the NCAA in rebound margin.
• Illinois outscored Minnesota 48-14 in points in the paint with the Gophers not scoring a point in the paint for the first 18:59 of the game.
• Illinois also held a 23-4 advantage in fastbreak points.
• Illinois outscored Minnesota 30-11 during the last 13:12 of the first half to enter halftime with a 40-29 lead. Included in that run was 14-straight points – with 10 coming from Cockburn – over a four-minute span midway through the first half. 
• Combined with its scoring run, Illinois turned up its defense as Minnesota made only 1-of-19 shots during a nearly 10-minute stretch in the first half (15:12-5:20). 
• Minnesota finished the first half making just 3 of its last 27 shots. 
• Illinois won its Big Ten opener for the first time since the 2013-14 season, improving to 68-48 all-time in Big Ten openers, including a 45-18 record when opening league play at home and 24-6 when doing so at State Farm Center.
• Illinois is now 125-68 all-time against Minnesota, and wins its third straight over the Gophers in Champaign to improve to 74-19 all-time at home.