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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 – FEBRUARY 24: Kofi Cockburn #21 of the Illinois Fighting Illini shoots the ball against Yvan Ouedraogo #24 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers at State Farm Center on February 24, 2020 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL – FEBRUARY 24: Kofi Cockburn #21 of the Illinois Fighting Illini shoots the ball against Yvan Ouedraogo #24 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers at State Farm Center on February 24, 2020 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers

And we finally get to the most dominated team of Kofi Cockburn’s career with the Illini. The team to get this honor is the Nebraska Cornhuskers. This isn’t too big of a shock, but domination is domination, and Kofi feasted on the Cornhuskers.

The history between Illinois and Nebraska isn’t long. Before joining the Big Ten, Nebraska had only played Illinois three times in the history of basketball. Shockingly, for Nebraska not being a basketball school, the Cornhuskers have been able to keep up with the Illini in recent years.

Since joining the Big Ten and up until Kofi joined the Illinois basketball team, the Illini were only winning the series 8-6. Nebraska played the Illini tough for much of the 2010s. But Kofi stopped the Nebraska momentum and Illinois started to dominate.

Kofi was able to play three games against the Cornhuskers, and he won all three contests. A 3-0 record was special but his numbers were even more incredible. In the three wins, Kofi averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks per game. Each of those stats ranks No. 2 against all seven teams on this list.

The best game Kofi had against Nebraska was probably one of the best of his career. He dropped 21 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks in a victory. That is an incredible stat line that will be hard to match by anyone going forward.

Next. Early projected Illini lineup for the 2021-22 season. dark

Kofi is one of the legends in Illinois basketball history. His presence for the program for the past two seasons has been special. We may never get to see someone as dominant as him set foot in the State Farm Center ever again. Thank you for everything, Kofi.

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