Top-seeded Illinois cruises past Drexel 78-49 to open NCAAs

Kofi Cockburn muscled his manner to 18 factors and Illinois cruised past Sixteenth-seeded Drexel 78-49 Friday within the Illini’s first NCAA Tournament sport as a No. 1 seed in 16 years.

Illinois (23-6) will face eighth-seeded Loyola Chicago or ninth-seeded Georgia Tech within the second spherical of the Midwest Regional on Sunday.

Maybe that will likely be extra of a take a look at for the Big Ten champions. Drexel (12-8) by no means actually had probability at containing the 7-foot, 285-pound Cockburn, who was 8 for 11 from the sector.

“I thought it was a matter-of-fact game,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood stated.

The Illini are again within the NCAAs for the primary time since 2013 with a crew stuffed with first-timers to March Madness after the pandemic canceled final yr’s match.

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“It was a really good experience, especially for me,” Cockburn stated. “It was just about enjoying the moment.”

James Butler — 6-8 and 242 kilos — drew the daunting activity of making an attempt to deal with Cockburn, with out a lot success. The senior did have 10 factors and 10 rebounds for Drexel.

The Dragons closed the season with 4 straight victories, together with three throughout a stunning run by means of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, to earn a bid to the NCAAs for the primary time since 1996. They managed to keep aggressive for about seven minutes, taking an 8-7 lead.

Indiana Farmers Coliseum, residence of IUPUI of the Horizon League and a minor league hockey crew, hosted the Midwest Region video games Friday. The 82-year-old constructing that was the location of the Beatles’ solely live performance in Indiana usually holds about 6,800 for basketball, however capability was capped at 1,200 for its first NCAA video games due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Illini followers, excited to see the their crew as a prime seed for the primary time since a Final Four run in 2005, appeared to get their arms on many of the tickets. They dotted the stands with blue and orange and cranked up an “I-L-L” chant late within the sport.

It took their crew a couple of minutes to discover a groove.

“I thought we played with a bit of nervous energy early,” Underwood stated.

All-American Ayo Dosunmu did not rating his first factors till he swooped in for a layup with 6:19 left within the first half.

Still sporting a black Batman masks to shield the damaged nostril he suffered final month, Dosunmu completed with 17 factors, 11 rebounds and 6 assists.

Cockburn bought free for 10 straight Illinois factors within the first half, capping his private run with a slam off a flip from Dosunmu.

“It’s not just his size,” Drexel coach Zach Spiker stated of Cockburn. “It’s his ability to score in different ways.”

The Illini closed the half on a 32-13 run.

“Even if the offense doesn’t work for us for a couple of minutes like it didn’t, we still kept ourselves in the game with our defense,” Cockburn stated.

The lead bought to 20 factors after a minute within the second half and by no means dipped under that the remainder of the way in which.

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Drexel: The Dragons had to end with a flourish to shoot 31% for the sport. They have been held to 22% within the first half. There simply weren’t many attractiveness in opposition to the longer and faster Illini.

“I thought the quality of our shots were not as good as they have been throughout the season and the credit goes to Illinois for doing that,” Spiker stated.

Illinois: Maybe the perfect information for the Illini: Coming off a troublesome Big Ten Tournament that ended with an time beyond regulation win on Sunday, no one had to play greater than 32 minutes.

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The Illini are 12-3 all-time in opposition to in-state rival Loyola, final taking part in the Ramblers in 2011. They are 7-2 in opposition to Georgia Tech, with the final assembly within the 2013-14 season.