Illinois Basketball: 4 big questions for the Illini against Chattanooga

4. Will Kofi dominate the paint?

I have done enough complaining about the Illinois guards and the hopes they come through against Chattanooga. Now it is time to talk about the x-factor for the Illini.

Kofi Cockburn has been amazing for Illinois this season. He is averaging career highs with 21.2 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, and he was just named as a First-Team All-American by everyone.

The last game we saw Kofi was against Indiana. He was his dominant self in that game, going for 23 points and 10 rebounds on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. He also made 7-of-8 from the charity stripe, which is baffling.

Illinois is going to need that type of production from Kofi throughout the NCAA tournament. It all starts with the Mocs on Friday. He is going to need to be the special player we know he can be.

That brings me to my final big question, will Kofi dominate the paint for the Orange and Blue?

I think this has to be a yes or Illinois isn’t winning the game. There hasn’t been a single game this season where Kofi has scored under 10 points. That is a crazy stat to think about. He has been incredible and continues to be the biggest force this program has ever seen.

Chattanooga isn’t great at rebounding the basketball either. They pull down 35.1 rebounds per game, which ranks No. 146 in the country. But they do limit their opponents to just 30.6 rebounds per game, which ranks No. 21 in the nation.

This is going to be a tough game and one where Illinois needs to be efficient. A good strategy for efficiency is to dump the ball down to Kofi and let him work.