Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from the win over Chicago State

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Nov 26, 2020; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini center Kofi Cockburn (21) goes up for a shot as Chicago State Cougars forward Kalil Whitehead (11) commits a fouls during the first half at the State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /

The Illinois Basketball team has moved to 2-0 after dominating their opponent for the second day in a row.

The Illinois Fighting Illini kept the momentum from Wednesday’s dominant victory going. The Illini would rout the Chicago State Cougars by a score of 97-38 on Thursday.

Illinois is living up to their No. 8 national ranking as they have defeated their first two opponents by a combined score of 219-98.

Here are four observations from the Illinois win.

1. The Illini controlled the paint

In their victory over NC A&T, Illinois out-rebounded the Aggies by 44 boards. That trend continued in Thursday’s victory, as the Illini would out-rebound Chicago State by 45 total boards (55-10). Chicago State’s 10 rebounds are the lowest by an opponent in State Farm Center history.

The No. 8 #Illini held Chicago State to just 10 rebounds, the lowest total by an opponent in State Farm Center history. @kxng_alpha had 11 rebounds. pic.twitter.com/KjBLkwco6L
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) November 26, 2020

Illini big man Kofi Cockburn played a major role in this, as he was controlling the paint pretty much throughout the entirety of the game. The sophomore center hauled in 11 rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end of the court.

Many more of those rebounds came from the Illini guards. Senior guard Da’Monte Williams would finish just behind Cockburn in the rebounding column with nine boards. Freshman Andre Curbelo would finish with seven rebounds and junior Ayo Dosunmu would contribute with six of his own.

The Illini would additionally outscore the Cougars 52-10 in the paint.

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