Kofi Cockburn in battle of bigs as Illinois Basketball battles Loyola Chicago

Illinois Basketball secured a first-round win over Drexel 78-49 on Friday afternoon. The Illini are one win closer to hopefully getting back to their first Final Four appearance since 2005.

The Illini had four starters finish in double figures in scoring. Big man Kofi Cockburn had a team-high 18 points and five rebounds. Ayo Dosunmu also had a strong game recording a double-double with 17 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

One team who would love to end Illinois season and send them home Sunday is Loyola Chicago. When the brackets were announced everybody’s eyes seem to wander to a possible second-round matchup between Illinois and Loyola Chicago for a battle of Illinois.

Loyola Chicago defeated the ACC Tournament champions in Georgia Tech 71-60. The Ramblers were led by Lucas Williamson on Friday. The senior guard scored 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Like Illinois, Loyola Chicago had four starters finish in double figures. The Yellow Jackets were missing a key piece in the ACC player of the year in Moses Wright, but the way Loyola Chicago played in the second half not sure it would have mattered.

The Ramblers played great defense, especially down the stretch in the second half.  They really clamped down and smothered Georgia Tech forcing awkward shots, getting turnovers, and clogging up the lane as well.

This should be a fascinating game between two teams who know what they do very well. Illinois knows how to fill it up on the offense end, while the Ramblers came into the NCAA Tournament as the leader in the country in scoring defense. Here are three keys to Illinois moving onto the sweet sixteen.