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  • No. 8 Loyola Chicago Wears the Cinderella Crown as Ramblers Beat No. 1 Illinois

No. 8 Loyola Chicago Wears the Cinderella Crown as Ramblers Beat No. 1 Illinois

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Basketball

The No. 1-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini basketball team fell to No. 8 Loyola Chicago in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Sunday, 71-58. Illinois was led by sophomore Kofi Cockburn who racked up 21 points and nine rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting from the field.

The Illini trailed 15-6 midway through the first half as the Ramblers jumped ahead early by forcing six Illinois turnovers in the first ten minutes of action. The Orange and Blue began to creep back into the game late in the first half, going 3-for-3 from the field to close the gap to single digits after trailing by 14 with just over a minute to go in the half. Illinois was held to a season-low 24 points in the first half and trailed by nine heading into the locker room.

Illinois came out strong to start the second half, narrowing the deficit with a pair of big buckets from Kofi Cockburn.

Trailing by ten with nine minutes to play in the second half, the Illini closed the gap to eight points. Illinois would trade scores back-and-forth with the Ramblers throughout the second half and eventually get within seven points with 1:36 to play, but ultimately could not complete the comeback as they failed to get consecutive stops on the defensive end.

Illinois finishes the season 24-7.

NOTES

  • Illinois won 15 of its last 17 games, including the Big Ten Tournament title.
  • Illinois is 41-32 (.562) all-time in NCAA Tournament games. Illinois made its 31st NCAA Tournament appearance.
  • Illinois finished the season 7-3 against teams ranked in the top 10 in kenpom. Loyola Chicago was ranked No. 9 by kenpom entering the game.
  • Illinois won seven games against AP Top 25 teams. The Illini single-season record for wins over top-25 teams is nine, set in 1989.
  • Illinois was a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time, owning a record of 13-4 all-time.
  • Illinois was playing in Indianapolis in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time, and first since 2005. The Illini are 6-3 all-time in the NCAAs in Indianapolis (first six games played at the RCA Dome).
  • Ayo Dosunmu finished the season averaging 20.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. He is just the second Big Ten player since 1993 to average 20 points, six rebounds and five assists, joining Ohio State's Evan Turner, the
  • National Player of the Year in 2009-10. Dosunmu is the only player in the NCAA over the last 11 seasons to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and five assists.
  • Dosunmu is 12th in Illinois history with 1,504 career points.
  • Trent Frazier is 19th in Illinois history with 1,434 career points and fourth in career three-pointers with 247.
  • Kofi Cockburn had a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds.
  • Cockburn finished the season with 16 double-doubles, tied for the fifth-most in a single season in Illinois history.