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Illinois Basketball: Top 7 teams Kofi Cockburn dominated during Illini career

By Rees Woodcock

Dec 23, 2020; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini center Kofi Cockburn (21) drives the ball to the basket as Penn State Nittany Lions forward John Harrar (21) defends during the first half at Bryce Jordan Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2020; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini center Kofi Cockburn (21) drives the ball to the basket as Penn State Nittany Lions forward John Harrar (21) defends during the first half at Bryce Jordan Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – MARCH 01: Jerome Hunter #21 of the Indiana Hoosiers shoots the ball into the block of Kofi Cockburn #21 of the Illinois Fighting Illini at State Farm Center on March 1, 2020 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL – MARCH 01: Jerome Hunter #21 of the Indiana Hoosiers shoots the ball into the block of Kofi Cockburn #21 of the Illinois Fighting Illini at State Farm Center on March 1, 2020 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers

It makes me extremely happy to put the Indiana Hoosiers at the No. 2 spot on the top seven teams Kofi Cockburn dominated the most during his Illini career. Each and every Indiana loss makes me happy, and this happened frequently the last two seasons.

There have been 132 games between Illinois and Indiana, and the series is pretty close for that many games. The Hoosiers have the series lead 71-61, but that gap closed a little bit with Kofi in the paint for the Illini the past couple of years.

Throughout the 2000s, Illinois had Indiana’s number going 12-7 during that decade. But things started to slip for the Illini. From the 2009-10 campaign through the 2013-14 season, Illinois had the lead 6-4 in the series. But then the Hoosiers started to dominate.

Leading up to Kofi’s entrance into the program, Illinois had dropped seven out of eight games to Indiana. This was a rough patch the Illini hadn’t seen in a long time. In steps Kofi and everything changed. Illinois went from getting dominated by Indiana to beating the Hoosiers in all three games Kofi played against them.

On top of having a 3-0 record against one of the most hated teams in Illinois basketball history, Kofi also dominated Indiana with his abilities. In the three games, he averaged 15.3 points, 10 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game. Kofi’s 10 rebounds and 3.3 blocks rank No. 2 and No. 1, respectively, against the teams on this list.

Going 3-0, averaging a double-double and putting up 3.3 blocks per game against Indiana cements Kofi as a legend. He performed well in some of the biggest games at Illinois.

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