Local Teams

Kofi Cockburn scored a game-high 26 points on Saturday while outplaying Big Ten Player of the Year Luka Garza as No. 3 Illinois advanced to the conference tournament final with an 82-71 win over No. 5 Iowa in Indianapolis.

Ayo Dosunmu nearly registered a triple-double, and finished with 18 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Andre Curbelo added 12 points as the second-seeded Fighting Illini (22-6) advanced to Sunday's conference title game against fifth-seeded Ohio State, which eliminated Michigan 68-67 in Saturday's first semifinal.

Garza finished with a 21-point, 12-rebound double-double, but made just 8 of 21 shots from the field and played down the stretch with four fouls. Jordan Bohannon scored 20 points and dealt six assists for the third-seeded Hawkeyes (21-8) and Joe Wieskamp added 12 points.

In beating Iowa for the second time this season, Illinois won with defense and rebounding. It limited the high-powered Hawkeyes to 26-of-64 shooting (40.6 percent) from the field, including 11 of 33 in the second half, and earned a 42-35 advantage on the boards.

The Illini owned the lane, scoring 52 points in the paint to Iowa's 24, and collected 19 points off 12 turnovers. They also made free throws, going 15 of 20, including 8 of 9 in the second half to put the game away.

The Hawkeyes got as close as five on two occasions in the second half, the last coming when Bohannon drained two free throws with 2:45 remaining to make it 76-71. But they never scored again and Illinois sealed the game with a layup and dunk from Cockburn, plus two foul shots from Da'monte Williams.

The Illini took the lead for good at the 14:03 mark of the first half with a 6-0 run that Curbelo capped by dunking in transition for a 19-14 advantage. Their other big spurt in the first half was a 9-2 burst that gave them a 41-31 lead when Trent Frazier pulled up and stroked a 3-pointer with 2:10 left in the half.

Illinois led 45-37 at intermission.

--Field Level Media