Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over Wisconsin

Illinois basketball dismantled No. 11 Wisconsin on Wednesday night to take the lead back in the Big Ten.

From the tip, the Illini looked like the better team. Brad Underwood hitched his wagon to Kofi Cockburn, and the All-American put the team on his back. The big man had a big night, and this helped propel the Illini to an 80-67 victory.

Here are five observations from the Illinois basketball win over Wisconsin.

1. Kofi’s dominance on display

Coming into the game on Wednesday night, I had already been impressed with Kofi Cockburn. The big man is an All-American and is rewriting the Illinois record books nearly every night he steps on the court.

I wasn’t sure there was much more Kofi could do to win me over as a fan. But, against Wisconsin, he was a level of legendary that I have rarely seen in an Illinois uniform.

From the jump, you could tell Kofi was going to have a big game. Illinois was feeding him the ball early and often, and he was able to get his way in the paint. Getting Kofi going early is the key for him to have a good game.

By the time the final horn blew, Kofi would end up with 37 points, 12 rebounds, and one block. He shot an absurd 16-of-19 from the field, which comes out to 84.2%. The only flaw the big man had on the night was his free throw shooting where he was just 5-of-9 from the charity stripe.

According to a recent Bleacher Report article, Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis is No. 1 on a list of the top players in college basketball. Davis finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds, but he only shot 5-of-19 from the floor. Half of Davis’ points came at the free throw line.

Kofi, easily, outplayed Davis on Wednesday night. There is no reason he shouldn’t be considered the best player in college basketball.