Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini loss to Ohio State

3. Ohio State is Kofi’s kryptonite

A lot happened in the Ohio State game. One of the things that killed Illinois the most was the absence of Kofi Cockburn on the court.

Kofi got to play in the game, but the foul situation took him out of making much of an impact. He would finish the game with 12 points and three rebounds while shooting just 5-of-15 from the floor. Thankfully, someone like Coleman Hawkins could come into the game and give Illinois the minutes they needed to replace the talented center.

The struggles of Kofi don’t come as a surprise, though. Ohio State has gotten the better of him for pretty much his entire career.

Heading into the game on Thursday night, Kofi’s career-high against the Buckeyes was just 16 points, which was in the last contest in the Big Ten Tournament last season. Scoring isn’t the only department where Kofi has struggled either.

In the now five games that Kofi has played against Ohio State, his best rebounding performance was just 11 rebounds. He has had three rebounds in two of the five games as well.

Foul trouble is something that has happened to Kofi in nearly every Ohio State game. He has had at least four fouls in all but one of the five games played against the Buckeyes. On Thursday, Kofi ended up fouling out of the game. There is something about Ohio State, but they seem to be his bugaboo.