Illinois routs Drexel behind big game from Cockburn
The telltale number in Friday's Illinois-Drexel game started small and stayed there.
It was Drexel's field-goal percentage. The Dragons started out 3-for-18 from the field, shot 22.2% in the first half and needed a late flurry to hit 30.6% by the final buzzer.
Needless to say, the Fighting Illini had no problem winning 78-49 at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis. Illinois will face Loyola in the second round on Sunday.
"It's what tournament's all about - great, great defense," Illini coach Brad Underwood said this week. "It's what we pride ourselves on. It's what we've been working toward, really since we made a change schematically a year ago, is figuring out how to win a game when you don't shoot the ball great."
Illinois shot the ball fine in this one. It was a 1 vs. 16 game, so it's not supposed to be competitive, but there were times when the Illini looked like a junior high squad floundering against the high school varsity.
Drexel had no one with any hope of matching up against Illinois' 7-foot, 285-pound center Kofi Cockburn. He finished with 18 points, hitting 8-of-11 shots from the field.
All-America guard Ayo Dosunmu didn't score his first points until the 6:19 mark of the first half, but produced 17 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Trent Frazier (11 points) and Adam Miller (10) also hit double figures for the Illini.
All week long, Illinois players have been talking about how much fun they're having while sequestered in Indianapolis for more than a week. Cockburn said this blowout win simply added to a great experience, even though there were barely any fans in the arena.
"It was just about enjoying the moment, enjoying being there, enjoying each other and achieving a common goal," Cockburn said. "So it was a really good experience for me and everybody else."
Drexel's top scorer Camren Wynter went 3-for-13 from the field for 6 points and second-leading scorer James Butler hit 5 of 12 shots. The Dragons weren't necessarily off target, they couldn't get many open looks against the Illini defense.
Drexel hit a couple of early 3-pointers and held a brief 8-7 lead. But Cockburn scored 6 straight points inside to make it 17-8 and the rout was on.
"Our guys who can hit midrange shots didn't make them and that just made things a little bit tougher for us," Drexel coach Zach Spiker said. "It was very clear Cam was the focus of their efforts defensively. They made him work. He's had better games and he'll continue to have better games for us, but credit goes to Illinois.
"Certainly didn't expect this type of result. They're really good, but I think if you walk around and say they're good, you don't give yourself a chance. We just wanted to fight and put ourselves in position."
Underwood gave Frazier, a senior from Wellington, Fla., most of the credit for locking down Wynter. The Dragons' top scorer averaged 16.8 points this season and shot 42.5% from 3-point range.
"They're really hard to guard and I thought our guys' focus on that end of the court was very, very good," Underwood said. "I think we did a good job on Wynter, taking him out of his comfort zone. Trent Frazier has a tendency to do that to people."
Illinois is 12-3 all-time against Loyola. The last meeting was on Nov. 11, 2011 with the Illini winning 67-49 in Champaign.
These schools faced off in the 1963 NCAA Tournament, when Loyola won 67-49 for the Mideast Regional title in East Lansing, Mich., on the way to the national championship.
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