‘Not everybody sees what I see’: Curbelo’s Confidence & Court Vision Leads to No. 12 Illini’s Win at Indiana

Andre Curbelo’s pass to Kofi Cockburn leads to Illinois' winning dunk for in a 75-71 overtime victory at Indiana and symbolized everything that is special about the Illini freshman guard.

One of the reasons Illinois head coach Brad Underwood was so excited to recruit, sign and develop Andre Curbelo was his ability to see and recognize things that other point guards simply can’t.

The winning basket for Illinois in its 75-71 overtime victory at Indiana Tuesday night symbolized every bit of the high praise the freshman guard has been receiving from the coaching staff since the day he arrived on the Champaign campus.

On Tuesday night, it was a single bounce pass to Kofi Cockburn off a pick-and-roll action where the freshman guard says he saw an angle and a window to throw the basketball where only the 7-foot, 290-pound center could slam it down for the Illini’s final bucket in the overtime session.

“As a point guard, and everybody knows this by now, I like to pass the ball and one of the great things about me is the court vision that I have,” Curbelo said describing the game-winning play. “I saw Kofi. I trust him. I knew he was going to get it. I have more confidence in my teammates than they have in themselves. It was a bounce pass that needed to be real low and hard so it would come up to his waist. That’s what happened and he dunked it and that was the ball game right there.

Ridiculous pass from @papicurbelo11 and @kxng_alpha with the DUNK DAGGER!#Illini | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/Iva52ORw8u

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) February 3, 2021

Curbelo’s creativity with the basketball has been something Underwood has been resigned to smile about and pleasantly deal with internally during the same game. The freshman guard from Long Island, N.Y. both is second in Big Ten Conference in assists in league play (5.7) and also is second on the team in turnovers with 41 this season. 

“I’m not afraid to make those kinds of passes but a lot of the time, not everybody sees what I see. So (on the play with Cockburn), I saw it and I have confidence in myself and confidence in Kofi.” - Illinois freshman guard Andre Curbelo

In this critical possession, the two-man action with Curbelo along with the Illini’s sophomore center led to the extraordinary occurring instead the frustrating.

“I know sometimes I force my passes and do silly things on the court. I know it,” Curbelo said. “I’m not afraid to make those kinds of passes but a lot of the time, not everybody sees what I see. So (on the play with Cockburn), I saw it and I have confidence in myself and confidence in Kofi.”

Curbelo had 12 points, which represented his first double-figure scoring effort since Christmas, five rebounds and four assists on a night where his defense was as equally critical to the Illini picking up its first win in Bloomington’s Assembly Hall since 2010.

On a night where Ayo Dosunmu struggled to find any offensive rhythm (2 of 11 for 10 points in 29 minutes that saw him foul out for the final seven minutes and 40 seconds of game action), Illinois needed to rely on its defense to make another second-half comeback. Curbelo, senior Trent Frazier, Giorgi Bezhanishvili, and Cockburn were instrumental in turning a 41-34 halftime deficit into an Illini lead over the first seven minutes of the second half.

“I always knew he was a talented player and tonight without Ayo, who we all know is the elite closer in all of college basketball, it had to be him. It was a great night and a great learning moment or him,” Underwood said. “He sees things and understands things at a level that is a savant in his ability to retain information.”

Frazier tied a game-high 19 points that included a two-minute stretch where on three straight possessions he lost Indiana freshman guard Khristian Lander for two open 3-point looks and then sent the 18-year-old to the bench for good after Lander committed his fifth foul on a shot beyond the arc. Before Lander, who graduated early from his Evansville, Ind., high school, could realize what had happened, Frazier had nearly single-handedly turned three-point deficit into a two-point lead. The Illini senior guard also chased around Indiana sharpshooter Armaan Franklin for 35 minutes. In Illinois’ hard-fought win in Champaign on Dec. 26, Franklin connected on 5 of 6 from beyond the arc for a 23-point effort. On Tuesday night, the highly-recruited sophomore guard from Indianapolis only ended with 11 points and didn’t attempt a single shot in the five-minute overtime period.

“When it’s winning time, you can’t make mistakes and you have to force opponent’s into something they don’t want to do when they’re clearly trying to run their very best play for their very best player,” Underwood said.

Illinois Fighting Illini guard Andre Curbelo (5) looks to pass the ball past Indiana Hoosiers forward Race Thompson (25) during the second half of a 2021 game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Illinois won 75-71 in overtime :: Marc Lebryk/USA TODAY Sports

Indiana (9-8, 4-6) was hoping to build its NCAA Tournament resume with a home win against a Top 15 opponent but with No. 8 Iowa coming to town Sunday, the Hoosiers could find themselves on the wrong side of the tournament bubble by the end of the week.

Cockburn allowed Indiana leading scorer Trayce Jackson-Davis to connect for 12 first-half points including a wide-open jumper at the halftime buzzer that forced Underwood to verbally and emotionally challenge his sophomore center.

Illinois Fighting Illini guard Andre Curbelo (5) and forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili (15) celebrate on the court after defeating the Indiana Hoosiers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall :: Marc Lebryk/USA TODAY Sports

“It was the first time in awhile I was upset with my basketball team at halftime (because) giving up 41 first-half points was not conducive to winning on the road,” Underwood said. “We were lethargic and they whipped us. Really challenged our guys and was the first time I had to do that we responded.”

In the final 20 minutes of action, Jackson-Davis had just seven points and didn’t have any of the Hoosiers three points in the overtime period.

The victory put an end to an annoying losing streak for Illini fans being forced to watch their team lose seven straight inside Bloomington’s Assembly Hall and meant Illinois (12-5, 8-3) got its first win at Indiana since 2010.

Illinois, which sits firmly in second place in the Big Ten Conference standings behind COVID-paused Michigan, will next play Saturday at home against No. 19 Wisconsin (14-5, 8-4) for a 1:30 p.m. tip on Fox.