For 39 minutes and 35 seconds of the Illini’s opening matchup in the NCAA tournament, it either trailed or was tied. Despite going down by as many as 14 points, Illinois found a way to come back and beat Chattanooga, 54-53.

The Mocs of Chattanooga came out hard and prepared. They jumped out to an early 14-3 lead, hitting shots inside and out and playing aggressive defense. They defended Illinois junior center Kofi Cockburn hard in the paint and prevented the Illini from getting clean looks outside the paint. 

Graduate student guard Alfonso Plummer made Illinois’ first threes of the game in the second half — his three 3-pointers were the only ones the Illini hit — and his team had life. The Illini cut the Mocs’ lead down to one or two multiple times, but they couldn’t find a way to get over the hump. 

With 12 seconds to go, Plummer hit two ginormous free throws to give Illinois a one-point lead, and a block by sophomore forward Coleman Hawkins and a shot contest by sophomore guard Andre Curbelo forced two Chattanooga misses, and Illinois survived and advanced.

Defense wins championships

Illinois may have been terrible offensively, which I’ll get into more in a bit, but boy, was it great on defense.

Chattanooga’s best player, sophomore guard Malachi Smith, is a 6-foot-4 guard who averaged 20 points per game in the regular season. Fifth-year senior guards Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams held the star in check, as Smith shot just 4-20 from the field and had 12 points.

The Mocs took 18 more shots than the Illini, but they shot just 32% from the field and 26% from three. Three of Chattanooga’s 3-pointers came from players who hadn’t even made more than 15 threes all year. 

Had it not been for a great defensive game from the Illini, they would have been on a flight back to Champaign Saturday morning.

Shooting slump

Here’s where the problems occur. Illinois shot 39% from the field and 17% from three. The free throws weren’t great, either, at 59%.

Frazier, Williams, Curbelo and graduate student forward Jacob Grandison combined for just nine points, and Plummer was the only Illini to make a 3-pointer. As Brad Underwood said directly after the game, Illinois was god awful offensively.

This is the second straight game in which Illinois hasn’t been good on offense, so something has to turn around. Credit to Cockburn (17 points) and Plummer (15 points) for carrying the offense. 

Time for some grades.

Coleman Hawkins: A

Coleman was the one Illini that played with high energy all night. He ran the floor well, scored 10 points, picked up eight boards and had zero turnovers.

Hawkins is an X-factor for Illinois defensively, as his tall frame gives him an advantage against a lot of wings. He didn’t have any defensive breakdowns.

Despite missing a free throw late, which his good buddy Kofi had his back on, Coleman was awesome. He caught alley-oops, scored inside and was great defensively. Boy, has he had a turnaround for the better this past month.

Kofi Cockburn: B+

Even when he doesn’t play his best, Kofi is still just so dang important. Illinois doesn’t win without him Friday night, and he really troubled the Mocs from start to finish.

He caused all of the Mocs’ big men into foul trouble in the first half and was making shots inside when no one else on the team was. However, he was fouled a ton and shot just 50% from the line.

Kofi was also only 50% from the field, Still, he recorded a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds, and he had a putback with 46 seconds left off a missed free throw to give Illinois its first lead of the night.

Illinois doesn’t win without Kofi, and it’s encouraging that it did so when he wasn’t having his best game. It just shows how important the big man is. 

Trent Frazier: C

You have to give Trent credit for two main things: his defense and his free throws. He helped hold Malachi Smith to 12 points, and he hit two big free throws late to keep Illinois in it.

But Frazier is really struggling offensively right now. He was 0-6 from the field and missed five threes as his shooting slump over the past few games continued.

Trent’s four assists were also huge, especially when he found Plummer in transition for Illinois’ first three of the game. Still, the fifth-year needs to hit a shot.

Alfonso Plummer: B+

It’s very hard to grade Plummer. On one end of the floor he was Illinois’ best guard, and on the other end he was the worst.

Plummer hit all three of Illinois’ threes, which kept his team in the game. He was the only Illini able to hit one, so that deserves a ton of credit. But he’s just not good defensively.

Other teams have targeted Plummer before, and Chattanooga’s guards were able to score on him a few times. He left his feet while defending one of the Mocs’ best shooters, leaving him open for a wide open three, which he made. That possession alone was bad.

Still, Plummer was huge in Illinois’ win. Credit to him for really stepping up offensively and not being afraid to take some big shots.

Da’Monte Williams: C

Williams did Friday night what he has done for most of the year: great on defense, yet nearly invisible on offense.

He had a transition layup for his only two points, on 1-3 shooting, with no assists. But on defense, he helped hold Smith down and grabbed six boards with a steal.

That’s what was expected of Da’Monte now. Credit him for good defense, but it would be great to see last season’s national leader in 3-point percentage make a three.

Andre Curbelo: B-

Another really tough guy to grade. The offense seems to flow its best with Curbelo on the floor, despite his tendency to commit turnovers and his inability to shoot.

Belo finished the night with five points on 1-7 shooting and six turnovers, which on paper looks very bad. But his four assists, three rebounds, steal and free throws just about make up for it.

Defensively, Curbelo has gotten a lot better throughout the year, and he definitely showed his impact against Moc guards not named Smith. He also contested Smith’s last-second missed jumper. 

I didn’t always like Curbelo’s shot selection, but his presence was necessary for a close Illinois win. 

Jacob Grandison: B-

Grandison only played nine minutes, but he was pretty good while in. He’s coming off a shoulder injury and missed Illinois’ previous two games

He didn’t take a shot, but Grandison had three rebounds and two assists in his time on the floor. We’ll see if he’s healthy enough to play more on Sunday.

Omar Payne: B

He only played four minutes, but Payne’s and-one basket in the first half sparked a little bit of offense when Illinois was down double-digits. He was only 1-3 from the line, and he picked up a foul (obviously) but had a couple nice minutes. 

Final note

Illinois’ win over Chattanooga was the definition of survive and advance. The Illini were terrible offensively, but they still found a way to win.

However, the Illini won’t get away with this type of offensive performance again, as they have their hands full Sunday against a very good Houston team. Should be a battle.

@JPietsch14

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