Cockburn, Plummer lead Illinois past Notre Dame

CHAMPAIGN - Kofi Cockburn scored 28 points, Alfonso Plummer added 21 and Illinois defeated Notre Dame 82-72 on Monday night in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Cockburn, a preseason All-American and player of the year candidate, leads the nation in scoring at 26.6 points per game. He did not take a shot in the first 12 minutes but finished the first half with 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting. For the game, he was 11 of 16 from the field and made 6 of 9 free throws.

Cockburn scored 8 points early in the second half and his dunk with 14:50 remaining gave the Illini a 56-43 lead. Jacob Grandison's 3-pointer extended the lead to 59-43.

Illinois (4-2) pushed the lead to 71-63 at the final official timeout then made 11 of 12 free throws in the final three minutes, including 8 for 8 by Plummer.

Iowa 75, Virginia 74:

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Joe Toussaint hit a clutch jumper to give Iowa the lead with eight seconds left in the game, Virginia missed two close-range shots and Patrick McCaffery blocked a third at the buzzer to preserve Iowa's win over the Cavaliers.

The Hawkeyes came out firing from the opening tip and never trailed in the first half, ballooning a 25-19 lead to a 40-19 advantage with a 15-0 run and held a 44-30 lead at the intermission. Iowa's first-half total was more points than Virginia had allowed in its two previous games.