Illinois Basketball: 3 takeaways in Fighting Illini road win over Michigan

Illinois Basketball is now solely in 1st place in the Big Ten with yet again another impressive road victory in Big Ten conference play over the Michigan Wolverines.

Illinois Basketball is currently 15-5 overall and 7-2 in the Big Ten. The Fighting Illini have been playing very well of late and there are no signs of them slowing down. They have a six-game winning streak with wins at Purdue, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Illinois determination and focus propelled them to a victory over the Wolverines. Here were the three key takeaways from the  Fighting Illini’s victory over Michigan.

Illinois won despite Kofi Cockburn’s worse statistical game of the season

Cockburn was 2 for 9 from the field and shooting only 22.2% for the game. He fouled out in the 2nd half with 5 fouls and he was limited to only 5 points, 3 rebounds, and one assist in the game. He also did not register a steal or a block in the game which is unusual for him. He is Illinois’ second-leading scorer and he has been a big part of the Fighting Illini’s success in Big Ten play. However, even though he did not have a productive game against Michigan, Illinois showed that despite Cockburn not providing major contributions on both ends of the floor, they can still win without his offensive efficiency and production on the court.

If a Big Ten team was worried about Illinois due to Cockburn’s dominant inside presence, they should be fearful of the fact that the Fighting Illini can go on the road and beat a quality Big Ten opponent with him not being a major disruptive presence down low in the offensive paint. Illinois showed how balanced they are even without their star player having a great offensive game.