Hoosiers Ready For Big Challenge With Illinois' Kofi Cockburn on Saturday

The battle of big men is always something special when Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis and Illinois' Kofi Cockburn get together, and the two stars square off again on Saturday, with Big Ten title aspirations firmly at play. Cockburn and Illinois lead the Big Ten right now.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Several hundred thousand people watched Illinois center Kofi Cockburn go wild on television against Wisconsin on Wednesday, scoring 37 points against No. 11 Wisconsin in an 80-67 victory in Champaign, Ill.

A couple dozen people in Bloomington paid extra close attention too, because Indiana coaches and players have to deal with the powerful 7-foot center on Saturday when the Hoosiers take on the league-leading Illini at Noon ET at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

IU-Illinois games the past few years have been intense, and a lot of that comes from the matchup in the post between Cockburn and Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis, two outstanding players whose games are nothing alike.

The battles are a blast to watch.

"Kofi's a great player and obviously last night he had a great game,'' Jackson-Davis said Thursday. "I was surprised that Wisconsin didn't double him. That was a little weird to me. 

"There are certain things that he likes to do that we'll take away from him. We'll throw different bigs at him, and hopefully I can use my quickness and my athleticism to try to slow him down.''

Cockburn is 7-foot and a thick and solid 285 pounds, and likes to do all of his damage close to the basket with power moves. He flirted with the NBA in the offseason, but decided to come back for his third year with the Illini. Despite dealing with a modest NCAA suspension and some concussion issues, he's had a big year, averaging 22.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game in 16 appearances. He's missed five games.

Jackson-Davis, who's 6-foot-9 and 245 pounds, is averaging 18.3 points and 8.5 rebounds this season. He'll do battle with Cockburn, but he'll also get plenty of help. He does take the matchup of stars personally, though.

"I'd agree with that. Coach (Mike Woodson) is always talking a little trash, about 'like this guy is going to this to you.' We take it personal, and we continue to build on that, because these last couple of games, our defense has been really good. 

"Illinois in general, they're shooting the ball really well from three too, especially with (Alfonzo) Plummer and (Trent) Frazier. They've got a lot of key pieces that we need to slow down,. but he's probably the biggest factor.''

Jackson-Davis and Cockburn have squared off three times, and the Indiana junior from Greenwood, Ind., has averaged 14 points and 11.3 points a game. He tries to use his quickness to get past Cockburn, who doesn't move very well away from the basket. Jackson-Davis has had success scoring against him. Illinois has won all three games, but Cockburn has always been surrounded by more talent, most notably current NBA standout Ayo Dosumnu.

"I'm going to have to use my quickness with him, trying to go around him laterally,'' Jackson-Davis said. "We'll use lots of rips, and we'll try to do some ball-screen stuff too, and try to force him out of the paint a little bit.

"We'll see what works the best and then stick with that, whatever's working for us.''

Indiana forward Miller Kopp, who transferred to Indiana last summer after spending three years at Northwestern, is very familiar with Illinois, too. That familiarity helps a lot with preparation, he said.

"We've had a couple days to really focus on them, which is great. They played last night and we were all tuned in to that,'' Kopp said. "They're a good team, obviously, and they're sitting at the top of the Big Ten right now. 

"Guys on the team, they just take their matchups personal. Obviously there's help (when it comes to guarding Cockburn), but guys take a lot of pride in guarding the ball.  I think we're all still learning, and all still getting better defensively. It's something that never stops when it comes to improving on it. We do have a lot of concepts as a team and a unit, and we're really strung together on the same chord, and moving together as one.''

Both teams are 16-5 overall, with Illinois leading the Big Ten at 9-2. Indiana is two games back at 7-4, so Saturday's game is a huge opportunity to close the gap and stay engaged in the Big Ten race.

"It's a great opportunity, really. You can look at it two ways. It's a tough stretch, but it give us a chance to move up the ranks, too,'' Kopp said. "I'm familiar with it. It's a lot of the same coaches, and they don't run anything different. Why would they? I've gotten some good experience guarding certain actions, and I feel like I've helped our newer and younger guys, giving them my two cents.''

After a tough stretch where Indiana went 4-1 in a narrow 16-day window, the Hoosiers have had all week to prepare for Illinois. They haven't played since winning at Maryland last Saturday, and the break has done them good. 

"Most definitely, the rest helped,'' Jackson-Davis said. "Those 16 days without an off day and continuing to play and play kind of wore us down. Having some time off and getting up and down against each other again has been good for us.. But we're itching to play again, too, so we're looking forward to coming out with high energy.''

Indiana won both of its showdowns against ranked teams at home in January, knocking off No. 11 Ohio State and No. 4 Purdue inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers continue to improve, and are playing at a high level right now. 

Indiana, which starts three transfers along with Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson, has been a work in progress all season, but they continue to get better and are playing at a high level right now. They look good as a group, and it shows. 

"My high school coach once told me that great teams have great teammates,'' Jackson-Davis said. "That's something that's always stuck with me. If you're a great teammate, hopefully you can spread that energy across the board and if you're all playing for each other instead of playing for something else, you're going to have a great team. 

"Whenever teams aren't playing selfishly and they play for each other, a lot of good things happen.''

Indiana's first game this season against 7-footers ended in victory over 7-4 Zach Edey and 6-10 Trevion Williams at Purdue, but Jackson-Davis was in foul trouble all night and only played 11 minutes. Jackson-Davis said that Indiana will throw a lot of bigs at Cockburn, so it will be interesting to see the game plan, and player rotation. It's critical, too, that Jackson-Davis stays out of foul trouble in this game.

Indiana's own 7-footer, backup Michael Durr, played well in the Purdue game, keeping Edey and Williams in check over 23 minutes and holding them to half of their combined scoring average.

But he played only six minutes in the ensuing loss to Michigan, and struggled so badly in the second half that Woodson yanked him after just two-plus minutes. He didn't play at all in the wins over Penn State and Maryland, which Woodson called''a coach's decision.''

It will be interesting to see what kind of role that Durr, the transfer from South Florida who has a lot of experience guarding big men, has on Saturday.

Watch Trayce Jackson-Davis' entire pregame interview

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• CHUCK CRABB RETIRES: Chuck Crabb was best known for being the public address announcer at Assembly Hall for the past 45 years, and he retired on Monday. He's 71, and he's seen a lot, but now it's time to join in wife in Florida and enjoy retirement, he said during a lengthy interview on Monday. CLICK HERE
• BIG TEN ROUNDUP (Feb. 2): Illinois center Kofi Cockburn scored 37 points and had 12 rebounds as the No. 18 Illini beat No. 11 Wisconsin 80-67 to move into first place in the Big Ten. Here is Wednesday night's roundup, with the rest of the week's league schedule CLICK HERE
• PHOTO GALLERY: Here's a look back at Indiana's win over Maryland in picture form, with more than two dozen pictures from the game. CLICK HERE
• ROB PHINISEE'S PLANTAR FASCIITIS: Indiana senior guard Rob Phinisee said he his getting treatment for his injured right foot, but there is no timetable yet for his return. He talked about the injury and his game-winning shot against Purdue along with teammate Xavier Johnson during Tuesday night's "Point Guard Podcast.'' CLICK HERE.
• TOM BREW COLUMN: Saturday at Maryland was a special day for Indiana point guards Xavier Johnson and Khristian Lander, for vastly different reasons. It was a homecoming of sorts for Johnson, with quality time spent with family. And for Lander, he was back on the floor and contributing, which was very important for him as well as he scratches to find a role on this team. CLICK HERE