Illinois Hands Wisconsin Defeat, SIUE Drops Loss

The Illini started off hot, holding Wisconsin to a seven-minute scoring drought and jumping out to a 13-2 lead. Da'Monte Williams had his most points in a half this season (10 points) and led the Illini to a 37-26 lead at the half.

Momentum was building for the Illini in the second half, with Andre Curbelo and Kofi Cockburn heating up and leading the Illini to a 14-point lead with 5:55 to go. Wisconsin pushed back behind D'Mitrik Trice's 25 second-half points, bringing the game within four with :53 seconds left. Pairs of clutch free throws by Andre Curbelo, Trent Frazier, and Jacob Grandison in the final minute vaulted the Illini over the Badgers for the season sweep.

CLUTCH DOWN THE STRETCH

The Illini were 10-for-10 from the free-throw line in the final 44 seconds of the game, with Curbelo and Frazier each going 4-4 from the line, and Grandison hitting the final two shots from the charity line to ice the game for the Illini.

BEATING THE BADGERS

In two appearances against the Badgers this season, Kofi Cockburn combined for 42 points, 21 rebounds, and was 17-for-26 from the field. Kofi also threw down another four dunks for the Illini against the Badgers.

CRAFTY CURBELO

With national player of the year candidate Ayo Dosunmu out, freshman Andre Curbelo has stepped up for the Illini. He has combined for 27 points, 19 rebounds, nine assists, and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity line.

UP NEXT

The Illini travel to Ann Arbor on Tuesday, March 2 to take on No. 3 Michigan in their first of two top-five matchups to end the season. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 PM CT and will be broadcasted on ESPN.

NOTES

• Illinois has won three straight games against Wisconsin for the first time since winning four straight from 2005-06. Illinois is 113-89 all-time against Wisconsin. 

• Illinois was 10-for-10 from the free throw line in the final 44 seconds (Curbelo 4-4, Frazier 4-4, Grandison 2-2). 

• Illinois shot 52.1% (25-for-48) from the field, the Illini's highest percentage at Wisconsin since shooting 53.3% (24-for-45) on Feb. 9, 2010.

• Illinois shot 55.6% (5-for-9) from three-point range, the Illini's highest three-point percentage at Wisconsin since shooting 60.0% (6-for-10) on Jan. 10, 2008.

• Illinois has won back-to-back games at Kohl Center for the first time since 2005-06. 

• Illinois is one of four teams to win back-to-back years at Kohl Center in the last 20 years. Only Illinois and Michigan State have achieved the feat twice.

• Illinois has won four games against AP-ranked teams, its most in a season since 2012 (4). 

• Illinois is 14-4 in the Big Ten, its third-most Big Ten wins in program history. The 2005 Big Ten champion Illini went 15-1 in conference games and the 1984 Big Ten champion Illini went 15-3. Illinois has 14-win Big Ten seasons in 1953 (14-4) and 1989 (14-4).

• Illinois' 27 Big Ten wins over the last two years is the second-most in consecutive seasons in Illini history, trailing only the 28 wins from 2004-05. 
Most Big Ten Wins in Consecutive Seasons

28 2004-05 

27 2020-21 

27 1984-85 

26 1988-89 

26 1952-53 

25 1987-88 

25 1942-43 

• National Player of the Year candidate Ayo Dosunmu missed his second straight game with a facial injury. 

• Owning numbers of 21.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game, Dosunmu is the only player in the NCAA over the last 11 seasons to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Southeast Missouri 69,  SIUE 63

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE men's basketball put up a furious comeback attempt Saturday but fell short in a 69-63 loss to Southeast Missouri at First Community Arena.

The Cougars finished the 2020-21 regular season at 9-16 overall and 7-12 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The seven wins are the most conference wins for SIUE since the 2014-15 season.

SIUE now moves on the OVC Tournament which begins Wednesday in Evansville, Indiana. The Cougars are the No. 8 seed and will face top-seededBelmont at 7 p.m.

"These guys are tough," Barone said of his team. "We've played that many games in that short amount of time and we still make it to Evansville. We're excited to go to Evansville. It's going to be a tall task."
After leading 35-27 at halftime, Southeast Missouri (11-15, 9-11) pushed its lead to 47-31 with 14:11 to play when SIUE roared back.

The Cougars scored the next 15 points and 17 of the next 18 to even the score 48-48 on a Courtney Carter layup with 8:36 left.

The Cougars never did take the lead and the Redhawks pushed their advantage to as many as eight down the stretch. SIUE cut the lead back to three on two separate occasions, including on a Desmond Polk three-pointer with 13 seconds left, but SEMO Knocked down three of four free throws in the final 10 seconds to seal the win.

"We gave it a lot," Barone said. "We didn't do some things that I know that we will do in the future. I give SEMO a lot of credit. Ultimately SEMO made some big stops and made some big baskets down the stretch and we didn't do what we need to do today."

Southeast Missouri will be the No. 7 seed in the tournament. The Redhawks face Morehead State later Wednesday.

Carter led SIUE with 16 pints. He was 4-8 shooting and 7-8 at the free throw line. Shamar Wright finished with 11 points for his fourth consecutive double-digit scoring game. Lamar Wright scored 10 and has had back-to-back double-digit scoring games.
"Our season is not over," Barone added. "This team has so much fight. This week proved that."

Chris Harris led SEMO with 16 points. Nana Akenten chipped in a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. DQ Nicholas scored 11 points and added six assists.   

Prior to the game, SIUE honored seniors Mike Adewunmi, Jackson Best and Iziah James. 
Each month, SIUE Athletics and Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc., will highlight an outstanding Cougar student-athlete who excels in competition and in the classroom.

The honoree for February 2021 is SIUE men's basketball student-athlete Courtney Carter. The junior from Memphis, Tennessee, is majoring in Business Administration at SIUE after transferring from South Suburban College this fall. On the court, Carter leads SIUE with nearly 30 minutes per game and has averaged 6.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game in his debut campaign with the Cougars.