Saturday, February 5
Bloomington, Ind.
Noon
Indiana University
vs
Illinois
Key to Beating Big Ten-leading Illinois – Stop Kofi
2/5/2022 11:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana won't win the Big Ten title or move into the conference lead by beating Big Ten leader Illinois.
But the Hoosiers, winners of six of their last eight games, including victories over top-15 Ohio State and Purdue, can position themselves to do both on Saturday afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
They are 16-5 overall, 7-4 in the Big Ten. The No. 18 Illini are 16-5 and 9-2.
The key to a Cream 'n Crimson victory starts with dealing with 7-foot center Kofi Cockburn, who just made the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar top-10 list for the nation's best center.
He averages 22.1 points and 11.6 rebounds, and is coming off a 37-point, 12-rebound effort in Wednesday night's victory over No. 11 Wisconsin.
"There's no big secret," IU coach Mike Woodson says about the Cockburn challenge. "It's what it is.
"(Against Wisconsin), they milked him until they couldn't milk him no more in terms of throwing it into him and him dominating the inside game. That's where their strengths are."
Cockburn is the first major college player in the last 13 years to average more than 22 points and more than 11 rebounds. He also has 40 career double-doubles, the most in the NCAA over the last three years.
For comparison, IU All-America forward Trayce Jackson-Davis has 30 double-doubles over that three-year span.
"He's not going to disappear on us," Woodson says. "We know we've got to play him. And we've got to play guys on the perimeter.
"Kofi is good. I mean, he's NBA-ready. That's how I look at it. And we're going to have to play him. You can't run from him."
Seven-foot center Michael Durr hasn't played much since a break-through performance against Purdue (four points, two blocks, two steals, strong defense). But with Cockburn and Illinois, he could have another significant role.
"I just didn't play him those few games," Woodson says. "It was coach's decision. I think I have that right if I don't feel like playing the guy.
"But this is the game he's got to be ready. That's all I'm going to tell you, because we've got a monster in the middle that somebody's got to deal with. So be ready."
Illinois adds perimeter firepower to its Cockburn-fueled inside dominance. Guards Trent Frazier, Alfonso Plummer and Jacob Grandison lead a three-point attack that averages 9.4 made three-pointers a game.
This makes it extra hard to double on Cockburn and get back to the shooters if he passes it.
"If you watched their team last year," Woodson says, "their spacing was not like it is this year. They are more spaced out, which makes it more difficult to double team and get back to the shooters.
"They've got guys that can make shots. You're going to have to deal with both of them. I don't know how you can get around it.
"Our defensive attackers have got to be on par in terms of being able to fight (Cockburn) inside. And then we've got to scramble to get the shooters."
The Hoosiers have to do it without fouling. With guard Rob Phinisee still out with plantar faciitis, starting point guard Xavier Johnson will have the biggest burden.
"Let's see if we can get them in foul trouble," Woodson says. "That's how I look at it.
"Again, we've played against good guards this year. And Frazier and Plummer are very talented guards.
"We can't run from it; we've got to play them. We've got to keep them in front of us. We've got to defend the three and we've got to defend their inside game.
"They've got the total package. We've got to defend it if we're going to give ourselves a chance to win."
IU hasn't played in a week. Its last game was a double-digit victory at Maryland, when it dominated the final 36 minutes.
Will the break help?
"I don't know if we've got fresh legs because we've been practicing," Woodson says. "We've had a day off because it's mandatory.
"We had a good practice (Thursday). We've added a few things. We've been film watching, watching Illinois and preparing for them."
The noon start doesn't bother Woodson as long as the Hoosiers come out with the necessary energy.
"It doesn't matter to me. We've had some early games. One game (Michigan), we came out flat. We can't have that against Illinois. We have to come out ready to play."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana won't win the Big Ten title or move into the conference lead by beating Big Ten leader Illinois.
But the Hoosiers, winners of six of their last eight games, including victories over top-15 Ohio State and Purdue, can position themselves to do both on Saturday afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
They are 16-5 overall, 7-4 in the Big Ten. The No. 18 Illini are 16-5 and 9-2.
The key to a Cream 'n Crimson victory starts with dealing with 7-foot center Kofi Cockburn, who just made the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar top-10 list for the nation's best center.
He averages 22.1 points and 11.6 rebounds, and is coming off a 37-point, 12-rebound effort in Wednesday night's victory over No. 11 Wisconsin.
"There's no big secret," IU coach Mike Woodson says about the Cockburn challenge. "It's what it is.
"(Against Wisconsin), they milked him until they couldn't milk him no more in terms of throwing it into him and him dominating the inside game. That's where their strengths are."
Cockburn is the first major college player in the last 13 years to average more than 22 points and more than 11 rebounds. He also has 40 career double-doubles, the most in the NCAA over the last three years.
For comparison, IU All-America forward Trayce Jackson-Davis has 30 double-doubles over that three-year span.
"He's not going to disappear on us," Woodson says. "We know we've got to play him. And we've got to play guys on the perimeter.
"Kofi is good. I mean, he's NBA-ready. That's how I look at it. And we're going to have to play him. You can't run from him."
Seven-foot center Michael Durr hasn't played much since a break-through performance against Purdue (four points, two blocks, two steals, strong defense). But with Cockburn and Illinois, he could have another significant role.
"I just didn't play him those few games," Woodson says. "It was coach's decision. I think I have that right if I don't feel like playing the guy.
"But this is the game he's got to be ready. That's all I'm going to tell you, because we've got a monster in the middle that somebody's got to deal with. So be ready."
Illinois adds perimeter firepower to its Cockburn-fueled inside dominance. Guards Trent Frazier, Alfonso Plummer and Jacob Grandison lead a three-point attack that averages 9.4 made three-pointers a game.
This makes it extra hard to double on Cockburn and get back to the shooters if he passes it.
"If you watched their team last year," Woodson says, "their spacing was not like it is this year. They are more spaced out, which makes it more difficult to double team and get back to the shooters.
"They've got guys that can make shots. You're going to have to deal with both of them. I don't know how you can get around it.
"Our defensive attackers have got to be on par in terms of being able to fight (Cockburn) inside. And then we've got to scramble to get the shooters."
The Hoosiers have to do it without fouling. With guard Rob Phinisee still out with plantar faciitis, starting point guard Xavier Johnson will have the biggest burden.
"Let's see if we can get them in foul trouble," Woodson says. "That's how I look at it.
"Again, we've played against good guards this year. And Frazier and Plummer are very talented guards.
"We can't run from it; we've got to play them. We've got to keep them in front of us. We've got to defend the three and we've got to defend their inside game.
"They've got the total package. We've got to defend it if we're going to give ourselves a chance to win."
IU hasn't played in a week. Its last game was a double-digit victory at Maryland, when it dominated the final 36 minutes.
Will the break help?
"I don't know if we've got fresh legs because we've been practicing," Woodson says. "We've had a day off because it's mandatory.
"We had a good practice (Thursday). We've added a few things. We've been film watching, watching Illinois and preparing for them."
The noon start doesn't bother Woodson as long as the Hoosiers come out with the necessary energy.
"It doesn't matter to me. We've had some early games. One game (Michigan), we came out flat. We can't have that against Illinois. We have to come out ready to play."
Players Mentioned
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