Cockburn leads No. 22 Illinois to 79-65 win over Penn State

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Kofi Cockburn had 21 points and 12 rebounds, leading No. 22 Illinois to a 79-65 victory over Penn State on Tuesday night.

Cockburn leads the nation with 11 double-doubles this season. Ayo Dosunmu and Trent Frazier scored 13 points apiece for Illinois (10-5, 6-3 Big Ten).

Myreon Jones scored 20 points and Seth Lundy added 13 for Penn State (3-6, 0-5).

Illinois charged to a 13-5 advantage and never relinquished the lead. The Illini led 42-28 at the break. Dosunmu scored just three points in the first half.

A scrum with two seconds left in the half resulted in technical fouls being called on Da’Monte Williams of Illinois and DJ Gordon of Penn State.

Illinois shot 46% from the field (26 for 57). Penn State was 21 of 62 (34%).

CALLED OUT

The Big Ten Conference on Tuesday reprimanded interim Penn State basketball coach Jim Ferry and fined the university $10,000 for comments Ferry made following a loss to Purdue.

Ferry was called out by the conference for his actions after the Nittany Lions lost to the Boilermakers 80-72 on Sunday.

BIG PICTURE

Illinois did what it had to do to prevent its third straight loss. One thing that helped was avoiding a slow start, which has plagued the team all season.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Illinois was expected to beat Penn State at home, and did easily. Look for the Illini to creep up a bit in the polls as a result.

UP NEXT

Penn State: Hosts Rutgers on Thursday.

Illinois: The Illini’s game at Michigan State, scheduled for Saturday, was canceled due to COVID-19 issues with the Spartans. Illinois doesn’t play again until it hosts No. 4 Iowa on Jan. 29.