The Illinois basketball team returned to the court on Tuesday to beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 76-53.
After a two-week COVID hiatus, Brad Underwood and his team returned against Minnesota. Coming into that game I expected the Illini to be a little slow, but no, Illinois swung out, took the lead and never looked back.
Several players for Orange and Blue played well. But, of course, one player stood out from the rest of the squad.
The MVP of the Illinois basketball team was Kofi Cockburn.
The other players played well, but the way Cockburn managed to dominate earned him the MVP of this game.
Cockburn came out and made his impact felt throughout the game posting a stat line of 29 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks, two steals and two assists. From start to finish, Cockburn was the best player on the pitch.
Minnesota couldn’t keep Cockburn or contain him no matter what they tried. After this performance, Cockburn now has his 8th double-double of the season.
This game once again showed Cockburn’s improvement as a player. He equaled his career record in assists and showed better timing for his shot blocks. In addition, he improved to perform post movements and take advantage of small players.
After beating the Golden Gophers, the Illini improved to 10-3 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten game. The next game on the schedule was Thursday night against Maryland in which Illinois defeated the Terrapins. The MVP for this game is coming soon.
