EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Kofi Cockburn returned from a concussion and scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead No. 24 Illinois to a 59-56 victory over Northwestern. Cockburn hit 10 of 17 shots and Illinois (15-5, 8-2 Big Ten) turned to Cockburn down the stretch. He scored 14 points in the second half. He tied the game with a short bucket with 2:25 to play and guard Da’Monte Williams’ follow dunk gave Illinois a 55-53 lead with 1:34 to play. Pete Nance led Northwestern (9-10, 2-8 Big Ten) with 21 points.
Elsewhere in Illinois:
CHICAGO (AP) — R.J. Cole scored 25 points to help No. 20 Connecticut beat DePaul 57-50 on Saturday for its fifth straight win. Cole scored over half of his team’s first-half points, helping the Huskies (15-4, 6-2 Big East) continue their surge up the conference standings. The Blue Demons (10-10, 1-9) have lost nine of their last 10 after going 9-1 to start the season. Javan Johnson led DePaul with 18 points. Brandon Johnson also scored 14 points.
OAKLAND, Mich. (AP) — Jamal Cain had 26 points and 12 rebounds as Oakland won its seventh straight home game, topping Illinois-Chicago 81-74. Damaria Franklin tied a career high with 25 points and had six assists for the Flames.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — AJ Green scored 24 points, Noah Carter scored 21, and Northern Iowa beat Illinois State 79-64. Carter scored the first seven points for the Panthers after halftime to give Northern Iowa a 37-35 lead and they never trailed again. Trae Berhow’s jumper with 10:35 left extended the lead to 57-38. Liam McChesney had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Redbirds.
CHARLESTON, Ill. (AP) — Paul Bizimana had 20 points as Eastern Illinois narrowly beat Tennessee State 62-57. Micah Schnyders had 12 points for Eastern Illinois (4-17, 2-6 Ohio Valley Conference), which ended its four-game home losing streak. Kejuan Clements added seven assists and three blocks. Carlos Marshall Jr. had 25 points for the Tigers (9-13, 4-6). Kassim Nicholson added 10 rebounds.
Also on Saturday’s top-25 men’s basketball schedule:
— Alabama teams did quite well in the Big 12/SEC Challenge yesterday, with Auburn extending its winning streak and Alabama pulling off an upset. Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler carried top-ranked Auburn to an 86-68 win over Oklahoma. Smith delivered 23 points and 12 rebounds, one game after being limited to five points on 2-for-15 shooting against Missouri. Kessler shot 9-for-11 and finished with 21 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks. The 20-1 Tigers lost most of a huge lead before dominating the final 12 ½ minutes for their nation-leading 17th straight win. Jaden Shackelford scored 19 points and had nine rebounds as Alabama toppled No. 4 Baylor, 87-78. Jahvon Quinerly scored 20 points for the Crimson Tide, who have beaten three teams that reached the Final Four last season. The Tide led by four with under three minutes to play before freshman J.D. Davison scored seven of his 14 points to seal the win.
— Andrew Nembhard scored 22 points and No. 2 Gonzaga made 18 3-pointers to earn its 10th straight win, a 104-72 dismantling of Portland 104-72. Drew Timme (TIH’-mee) had 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Anton Watson also scored 16 to help the Zags run their home winning streak to 64 games.
— Bennedict Mathurtin (MA’-thur-tihn) and Oumar (OH’-mahr) Ballo each scored 14 points for third-ranked Arizona in a 67-56 victory against Arizona State. Arizona shot just 32% in the first half, then held the Sun Devils to 24 points in the second half to bounce back from a loss to UCLA.
— Keion Brooks scored 27 points and 12th-ranked Kentucky outrebounded Kansas, 41-29 to earn an 80-62 win over the fifth-ranked Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse. Oscar Tshiebwe (SHEEB’-way) had a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds as the Wildcats improved to 24-10 all time in the series.
— Jules Bernard scored 16 points and No. 7 UCLA stymied Stanford’s shooters in a 66-43 victory. Jake Kyman added a season-high 15 points, bolstering the Bruins’ offense with leading scorer Johnny Juzang (JOO’-zang) in COVID-19 protocols for the second straight game.
— Kyler Edwards scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half and Josh Carlton added 13 points and 14 rebounds as seventh-ranked Houston beat UCF 63-49 for its 10th straight victory. The Cougars closed the first half with a 19-4 run and held firm in the second half after UCF clawed to within 42-39.
— AJ Griffin delivered 22 points, including consecutive 3—pointers during a late 12-0 run that helped ninth-ranked Duke escape Louisville, 74-65. Griffin made all five of his 3-point attempts and finished 8 of 13 from the field.
— Max Christie scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half and Malik Hall finished with 15 in leading 10th-ranked Michigan State to an 83-67 win over Michigan. The Spartans pulled away by outscoring their rivals 14-3 early in the second half.
— Texas Tech is 13-0 at home this season after Adonis Arms had 16 points and seven assists to send the 13th-ranked Red Raiders past Mississippi State, 76-50. Kevin Obanor added 13 points while Mylik Wilson had 12 in the victory.
— Villanova used a decisive 19-2 run and nine 3-pointers in the first half to cruise to their third straight win, 73-62 versus St. John’s. Collin Gillespie was high man for the 14th-ranked Wildcats with 17 points, while Eric Dixon and Caleb Daniels each had 15.
— Isaiah Mobley scored a career-high 24 points and Boogie Ellis added a season-high 21 for 15th-ranked Southern California in a 79-72 downing of California. Mobley was 9 of 21 from the field and also grabbed six rebounds.
— Timmy Allen’s free throw with 6.2 seconds left sent Texas to a 52-51 win over No. 18 Tennessee after the Volunteers rallied from 17 points down. Courtney Ramey was the lone Longhorn to score in double-figures, finishing with 18.
— Chuck O’Bannon scored 16 of his career-high 19 points after halftime, including three consecutive 3-pointers in TCU’s 77-68 victory against No. 19 LSU. Mike Miles had 19 points, eight rebounds, and six assists as the Horned Frogs handed the Tigers their fourth loss in five games.
— Paul Scruggs provided 18 points and Jack Nunge made a career-high four 3-pointers and had all 16 of his points in the second half as No. 21 Xavier beat Creighton, 74-64. The Musketeers trailed by 17 before opening the second half on a 29-2 run.
— Izaiah Brockington scored 15 points and Tyrese Hunter added 14 as 23rd-rated Iowa State defeated Missouri, 67-50.
— Luka Brajkovic dropped in 22 points and Foster Loyer added 14 points, six rebounds, and five assists, sending No. 25 Davidson to a 77-69 win against La Salle.
