ANN ARBOR, Mich. — One step forward, one step back.
That’s been the theme of Michigan’s postseason push over the past month and the Wolverines couldn’t buck the trend on Sunday against No. 15 Illinois.
This time, a hot-shooting first half by Alfonso Plummer and a big second half by Kofi Cockburn was too much for Michigan to overcome as its late comeback bid fell short in a 93-85 loss at Crisler Center.
Grad transfer guard DeVante’ Jones had 25 points and 10 assists, freshman forward Caleb Houstan scored 21 and sophomore center Hunter Dickinson had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Michigan (15-12, 9-8 Big Ten), which has lost five straight against Illinois.
Freshman forward Moussa Diabate added 12 points in his return from a one-game suspension for his involvement in the postgame incident at Wisconsin for the Wolverines, which cut a 15-point second-half deficit down to two in the final two minutes before the Fighting Illini scored seven straight to maintain control.
Cockburn had 27 points — 19 coming in the second half — and Plummer finished with 26 points — 23 coming in the first half — and made six 3-pointers for Illinois (20-8, 13-5), which shot 56.7% from the field (34-for-60) and 58.8% from 3-point range (10-for-17). Trent Frazier added 17 points and Andre Curbelo scored 12.
After Plummer torched the Wolverines in the first half, the Fighting Illini opened second half with a steady diet of post touches to Cockburn and pounded Michigan inside. He scored three baskets in the paint over Dickinson to give Illinois a 52-40 lead with 17:51 to play.
Dickinson did his best to counter, splashing an open 3-pointer and throwing down a two-handed dunk to cut it to seven. But missed opportunities and an inability to string together stops prevented Michigan from whittling the deficit down further.
Following an offensive foul on Dickinson that erased a basket, Illinois used a four-point possession to push its lead to 13. Frazier made a jumper while being fouled by Jones and missed the ensuing free throw. Illinois grabbed the offensive rebound and Cockburn threw down a two-handed dunk to make it 64-53 at the 12:09 mark.
Illinois extended the lead to 74-59 on Plummer’s sixth made 3-pointer before Michigan made a push. Diabate scored five straight on a three-point play and layup to spark a 12-2 spurt. Jones converted back-to-back turnovers by Illinois into six unanswered points — three free throws on a fouled 3-point attempt and a 3-pointer — to pull the Wolverines within 76-71 with 6:32 to go.
Illinois responded with a pair of easy layups to push the lead back to 10, but Michigan clawed back with a 9-1 run that was spearheaded by Houstan and Jones. After Illinois split two free throws and Michigan got a stop, Houstan drained a 3-pointer in transition to cut the deficit to 82-80 with 2:03 remaining.
But the late rally fizzled at that point. Cockburn made a basket in the paint, Michigan came up empty on its next possession and Fraizer buried a dagger 3-pointer off an offensive rebound with 45 seconds left.
The teams traded blows during a back-and-forth start, with the big men at the center of it all. Cockburn scored twice in the paint, including one bucket at the rim while being surrounded by three Michigan players, and passed out of a double-team to an open Frazier for a 3-pointer. Dickinson knocked down a mid-range jumper and turned a pair of offensive rebounds into three made free throws to keep Michigan close, 12-11, with 15:17 left in the first half.
Michigan blinked first as Plummer got hot and put on an offensive show, scoring 13 straight points for Illinois over a four-minute stretch. He kicked off the personal run by burying a deep 3-pointer off a turnover and followed that by hitting a jumper while being fouled by fifth-year senior guard Eli Brooks.
The Wolverines did their best to navigate Plummer’s shooting display, but they could do little to slow him down. He answered a 3-pointer by Jones with another deep ball of his own. Then after a tip-in by Jones cut the deficit to two, Plummer got a corner 3-pointer to rattle in.
When Plummer wrapped up his run with a pair of free throws, that sparked an 8-0 spurt that led to back-to-back 3-pointers off Michigan turnovers and forced the Wolverines to take a timeout as they fell into a 31-20 hole at the 8:39 mark.
Houstan snapped the run with a 3-pointer and scored seven straight points for Michigan to pull them within six. But the Wolverines couldn’t contain Plummer down the stretch as he pushed the lead back to double digits three times — on a 3-pointer in transition, on two free throws and on a driving layup — before Illinois took a 46-38 lead into the break.
