Kofi Cockburn leads No. 18 Illinois past No. 11 Wisconsin, 80-67

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Kofi Cockburn had 37 points and 12 rebounds and No. 18 Illinois beat No. 11 Wisconsin 80-67 on Wednesday night.

Cockburn had 20 first-half points on 10-of-12 shooting, including two rim-rattling dunks. He finished 16 of 19, making his last five shots for the Illini (16-5, 9-2 Big Ten).

Johnny Davis led Wisconsin (17-4, 8-3) with 22 points and 15 rebounds.

Illinois took a 42-38 lead into halftime after shooting 19 of 34 from the field in the first half. The Illini opened the second half on a 12-4 run, including a 3 from Alfonso Plummer that made it 51-40.

Badgers guard Brad Davison fouled Plummer while shooting another 3 a couple of minutes later, and he made the ensuing three free throws to put Illinois up 12.

Jacob Grandison added 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Illinois. He was 3 of 6 from 3-point range.

BIG PICTURE

Illinois: The Illini find themselves alone atop the Big Ten standings as the season runs into February, winning three straight games after back-to-back losses to Purdue and Maryland. Few opponents can muster an answer for Cockburn when he’s playing well, although a rematch with No. 4 Purdue and center Zach Edey looms on Feb. 8.

Wisconsin: The Badgers entered Champaign as winners of nine of their last 10 games, but now find themselves just behind in the conference title race with a trip to No. 13 Michigan State coming up on Tuesday. Even on a tough night, the Badgers can rely on Davis to produce, as he did on Wednesday. His abilities give the Badgers the playmaking needed to hang around in the conference title chase.

UP NEXT

Illinois: At Indiana on Saturday.

Wisconsin: Hosts Penn State on Saturday.