Illinois was back in PPG Paints Arena on Sunday afternoon for the second round of March Madness against No. 5 seed Houston.
While the Illini got off to a better start compared to Friday, they couldn't find an offensive flow throughout the game and had no answer for Cougars' Taze Moore, ending their season with an 68-53 loss.
Moore, who averaged just 10.2 points per game during the season, put up 21 points against the Illini while also grabbing seven rebounds. Jamal Shead followed with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Kofi Cockburn led the Illini again with 19 points and eight rebounds, but Illinois shot just 34% on Sunday.
Houston converted 17 Illinois' turnovers, into 20 points, while also out-rebounding the Illini and notch9ing 24 points in the paint.
Coleman Hawkins opened up Sunday's game with a three-pointer for the Illinii. Shead came back with a short jumper then Moore and Trent Frazier traded shots, marking Frazier's first field goal make of the tournament.
Both offenses stalled for a few minutes, even though Houston secured five offensive boards in the first six minutes. Cockburn got going with a block then a layup after a dish from Andre Curbelo. After missing nine straight shots, Houston made a quick 7-0 run to take a 12-7 lead. RJ Melendez made his first tournament appearance and immediately made a layup to end the run.
But the Cougars kept working, making a couple layups while holding Illinois scoreless for four minutes. Cockburn ended the drought with a pair of free throws after getting a steal on the other end. But, Edwards fired back with a three then stole the ball and made a layup to put Houston up 21-11.
The Illini offense continued to struggle, failing to make a field goal in over six minutes and turning the ball over four times in a three-minute span. Cockburn once again got the offense back on track with a layup then Luke Goode checked in and knocked down a trey.
Shead got the three points back after securing an offensive rebound then hitting a deep ball. Melendez continued to bring the energy, making a layup through a foul, then hitting the free throw. After another free throw from each team, Goode drained another three to shrink the deficit to four points. But after another offensive rebound by Houston, Moore recorded another layup and a free throw to go up 30-23.
But with just a few seconds left in the half, Frazier rushed down the court and hit a deep three at the buzzer. Illinois still trailed 30-26 at halftime as Cockburn, Frazier and Goode each tallied six points while Moore had 11.
Cockburn came out of the half hot, making a pair of free throws then scoring a layup to tie the game at 30-30. But, the Illinois offense went cold for another three minutes, allowing Houston to put up four quick points. Cockburn ended the drought again, getting a dunk from a Frazier dish.
Moore got back to work, making a layup and an and-1 jumper. Cockburn split a pair of free throws then Melendez made a layup to get the Illini within one point. But Moore grabbed his third offensive board of the day and made the putback to fend off Illinois.
Plummer made his first three of the game to tie things up at 40-40, but three straight makes from Shead built Houston's lead back up. The Illini kept trying to fight back as Melendez had a dunk, but the freshman was given a technical foul and Houston made the free throw. Cockburn made an and-1 layup and the free throw cutting the Cougars' lead to 49-47.
However, the Illini defense just couldn't string together stops. Houston went on a 7-0 run while Illinois' offense failed to score for a couple minutes. Plummer made a big three while getting fouled and made the free throw, but the Illini defense gave up four quick points. The Cougars led by nine points with under four minutes to play.
Houston sealed the win by mountin an 11-0 run while the Illini couldn't find any consistency on offense.
Sunday's game marks the last for seniors Trent Frazier, Jacob Grandison, Alfonso Plummer, and Da'Monte Williams.
