POST-GAME VIDEO: No. 13 Illinois 92, Minnesota 65 - Kofi Cockburn & Trent Frazier

Illinois center Kofi Cockburn and guard Trent Frazier spoke to national, local and statewide media via Zoom video following the 92-65 win over Minnesota.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois center Kofi Cockburn and guard Trent Frazier spoke to national, local and statewide media via Zoom video following the 92-65 win over Minnesota.

The plan for Illinois (5-2, 1-0 in Big Ten) seemed simple enough early and often Tuesday night as they attempted to feed its 7-foot, 290-pound center as much as possible. Kofi Cockburn would end the evening with his 16th career double-double with 33 points and 13 rebounds as the 2020 Big Ten Freshman of the Year selection did a lot of his damage less than five feet from the rim (12 of 15 from the field and 9 of 15 from the foul line).

When Illinois wasn’t throwing the ball into the post and letting Cockburn dominate, the Illini got a balanced scoring effort from All-America selection Ayo Dosunmu, Trent Frazier, Andre Curbelo and Adam Miller. The quartet of perimeter threats combined for 43 points and seven conversions from three-point range. In his first career Big Ten game, Curbelo had a very active night that saw the Puerto Rico native flirt with a triple-double and end with nine points, nine assists and six rebounds in just 23 minutes.

Minnesota was led by All-Big Ten guard Marcus Carr’s 16 points but nothing came easy as the Gophers shot just 7 of 28 from beyond the three-point arc and forced Minnesota’s NBA-caliber perimeter threat into a 3 for 13 shooting night.

The 27-point victory over Minnesota is the biggest for Illinois since a 86-50 victory in Champaign over the Gophers on Feb. 11, 1988. The Illini have won four of its last five meetings with Minnesota inside State Farm Center and two of those margin have been over 25 points.