EVANSTON, Ill. — Illinois center Kofi Cockburn returned to the lineup against Northwestern on Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston after missing two games in concussion protocols, leading the Illini to a pulsating 59-56 win against the Wildcats.
Cockburn scored 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds for No. 24 Illinois, which improved to 15-5 and remained in first place at 8-2 in the Big Ten.
The Illini proved in their win against Michigan State on Tuesday that they have enough talent to win without Cockburn and point guard Andre Curbelo, who is in COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
But nothing is going to come easy for this Illini team, and the presence of Cockburn on Saturday made the difference in a wild back-and-forth affair in the second half.
“It was tough, man,” Cockburn said of his absence. “I haven’t missed a game in three years due to injury or any other issues, other than that situation (a three-game suspension to start the season for selling apparel and memorabilia).
“Not knowing what it feels like, not knowing how to handle it, it was really tough for me. Those guys made sure they messaged me every day and tell me how much they missed me and picked me up.”
On Saturday it was Cockburn’s turn to pick up his teammates. The 7-foot All-American hit 10 of 17 shots, while his teammates combined to go 12 for 34 (35.3%).
“Nice to have the horse back,” coach Brad Underwood said in an understatement.
The Illini leaned on Cockburn when the game was in doubt, and he made sure they didn’t blow it to a scrappy but luckless Northwestern team.
“I just take it on as a challenge,” Cockburn said. “I watched Ayo (Dosunmu) do it last year. I really enjoyed playing with him and watching what he does. I’m just trying to take on that role. Whenever we need a basket, I just calm down and try to get it.”
Cockburn is one of those once-in-a-generation college centers who can leave a mark that lasts for years after he’s gone. The fact he came back for another year after considering entering the NBA draft and then the transfer portal was an indication he dearly wanted to be the Man in Champaign and leave a legacy, as Dosunmu did.
But because to the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Tournament after the onset of COVID-19 and last year’s second-round upset loss to Loyola, the Illini haven’t been able to take advantage of their window of opportunity in the tournament, even after the Kofi and Ayo Show obviously helped spur a renaissance for the program.
So how good can this Illinois team be? It’s hard to say until we see Cockburn and Curbelo playing together regularly. Hopefully that will happen in February in the lead-up to the conference tournament, in which a handful of teams — including Michigan State, Wisconsin, Purdue and Ohio State — have a realistic shot of winning.
The Illini head into a big matchup Wednesday against the 11th-ranked Badgers in Champaign.
Saturday’s game was simply a matter of who would blink first.
After missing nine of their first 10 shots, the Wildcats stormed back to make it a game, ending the half trailing 24-19 after shooting only 23% (6 for 26). But Pete Nance and the Wildcats’ defensive effort managed to prevent Cockburn and Trent Frazier, who had an off night with 2-for-10 shooting, from turning it into a blowout.
After easing his way back in the first half, Cockburn started the second half with a three-point play and a sky hook. Underwood said they made a “pointed effort” to get the ball inside to the big guy, and it worked. But the Wildcats offense woke up, and NU held a five-point lead with a little more than five minutes left.
A 3-pointer by seldom-used freshman guard Brandin Podziemski — his second of the night — pulled the Illini within two with 5:11 left, and the teams then traded blows down the stretch. Da’Monte Williams hit a pair of free throws to tie it again before Chase Audige’s stepback jumper put the Wildcats back on top.
After a turnover by Northwestern (9-10, 2-8), Cockburn muscled inside past Elyjah Williams to make it 53-53, and Da’Monte Williams slammed home a rebound of Cockburn’s miss on the next trip downcourt to give the Illini the lead with 1:31 left.
“Put a big capital ‘W’ by his name,” Underwood said of Da’Monte Williams.
On the Illini’s next possession, Cockburn rebounded a Nance miss and was fed the ball in the paint with four Wildcats breathing down his neck. Cockburn went to the line after a Boo Buie foul and split the two free throws. After Ryan Greer missed on a jumper, Da’Monte Williams grabbed the rebound, and Alfonso Plummer hit one of two free throws with 12.6 seconds left to seal it.
Underwood credited the play of his bench mob, including Podziemski and fellow freshman RJ Melendez, for getting them through a night when the starting guards were misfiring.
“For (Podziemski) and those guys not to melt and not be nervous or uptight or whatever in the middle of a Big Ten season and just step in and do their job, I’m really happy for those guys,” Underwood said.
The game at times felt like it was being played in Champaign instead of Evanston. The stands were filled with orange and blue at Welsh-Ryan, thanks to road-tripping Illini fans and the sizeable alumni base in Chicagoland.
Feel like home, Kofi? Cockburn took it a step further.
“It was a home game, man,” he replied. “Those fans, they’re electric. They pick us up and they give us the energy we need every time we come here. It’s just unbelievable.”
Northwestern markets itself as Chicago’s Big Ten team, which makes sense considering Illinois is two hours away. But the Illini might have a chance to prove in March that Chicago really is their home away from home.
It all depends on whether they play in the Midwest Regional at the United Center.
By then we should know if Cockburn and Curbelo can bring Illini Nation the kind of madness they’ve craved the last two years.
