Illinois Basketball: Illini MVP of the game against Purdue
By Jalen Wilson
The Illinois basketball team beat the Purdue Boilermakers 79-62 in convincing fashion on Tuesday night.
This Illini team played some gritty basketball against Purdue. Illinois was able to play shutdown defense, despite Alan Griffin getting ejected early on the first half. The Illini then got off to a hot start in the second half and never looked back. There were several players who played well for the Illini, so there were co-MVPs for the game.
Trent Frazier and Kofi Cockburn are both awarded with co-MVP. They were great on both ends of the court and a huge reason we won the game.
Frazier really lit up the scoreboard Tuesday against Purdue. He scored 21 points while shooting 5-of-7 from the field. All of his shots were three-pointers too. Frazier only missed one three-pointer in the first half going 3-of-4 from deep. The Illini really needed him to shoot well because Griffin was ejected early in the game. He did a good job of getting to the free throw line as well. Frazier finished the night going 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
Cockburn just dominated the game as he dropped 22 points and controlled the glass with 15 rebounds. He did a good job affecting shots at the rim as he had three blocks on the night as well.
Cockburn also did a good job in the pick and roll defense and closing out on Isaac Haarms from outside. He was also perfect at the free thrown line going 6-of-6.
The Orange and Blue improved their winning streak to five games with the win against Purdue. Illinois moves to 14-5 overall and 6-2 in Big Ten play. We will face off against the Michigan Wolverines Saturday at 11:00 AM CT.