When Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn both withdrew from the 2020 NBA Draft, I and many others suggested Illinois might have the best inside-outside duo in college basketball. Whether that's true is obviously debatable. But it's certainly appeared true through the first three weeks of this season as both have been statistically awesome for a legit Final Four contender.
Just three days after Dosunmu got 36 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 81-78 loss at Missouri, Cockburn got 33 points and 13 rebounds in Tuesday's 92-65 victory over Minnesota. So the two All-America candidates are now combining to average 39.4 points and 17.0 rebounds per game. They're the main reason the Illini's five wins have come by an average of 33.0 points.
"It was obviously a great night for Kofi," said Illinois coach Brad Underwood. "He was dominant -- and that was our game plan coming in, to get it inside to Kofi."
Cockburn's performance against Minnesota was historically great. The 7-foot center became the first player to have at least 33 points and 13 rebounds in 25 minutes or less against a Division I opponent since Michael Beasley finished with 33 points and 15 rebounds in just 22 minutes of Kansas State's 82-57 victory over Iowa State in January 2008. So Cockburn is the first to do what he did in nearly 13 years.
Illinois remains No. 17 in Wednesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. The Illini's next scheduled game is Sunday at Rutgers, which is No. 18 in the Top 25 And 1. Clemson was removed from the Top 25 And 1 because of Tuesday's 66-60 loss at Virginia Tech. The Tigers were replaced by LSU. Will Wade's team is 4-1 with the lone loss coming at Saint Louis, which is one spot ahead of LSU in the Top 25 And 1.
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Wednesday's Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Gonzaga's perfect record features wins over Kansas and West Virginia. The Zags have temporarily suspended basketball activities because of COVID-19 issues. | -- | 5-0 |
| 2 |  | Baylor's perfect record is highlighted by double-digit wins over Illinois and Washington. The Bears have temporarily suspended basketball activities because of COVID-19 issues. | -- | 4-2 |
| 3 |  | Luka Garza finished with 23 points and eight rebounds in Sunday's 106-53 victory over Northern Illinois. The Hawkeyes' perfect record also features double-digit wins over North Carolina and Iowa State. | -- | 5-1 |
| 4 |  | Ochai Agbaji finished with 18 points and five rebounds in Friday's 95-50 victory over Omaha. The Jayhawks' lone loss is a neutral-court loss to top-ranked Gonzaga. | -- | 5-0 |
| 5 |  | Gabe Brown made five 3-pointers and finished with 20 points in Sunday's 109-91 victory over Oakland. The Spartans' perfect record also features wins over Duke and Notre Dame. | -- | 4-1 |
| 6 |  | Jaden Springer made six of the eight shots he attempted and finished with 12 points in Tuesday's 79-38 victory over Appalachian State. The Vols' perfect record also features wins over Colorado and Cincinnati. | -- | 6-0 |
| 7 |  | Collin Gillespie finished with 18 points and six assists in Friday's 79-63 victory at Georgetown. The Wildcats' 5-1 record includes wins over Texas and Arizona State. | -- | 3-4 |
| 8 |  | Miles McBride finished with 20 points and five assists in Sunday's 87-71 victory over Richmond. The Mountaineers' lone loss is a single-digit loss to Gonzaga. | -- | 3-1 |
| 9 |  | Virginia's lone loss is a one-point loss to San Francisco. The Cavaliers have temporarily suspended basketball activities because of COVID-19 issues. | -- | 3-2 |
| 10 |  | Houston's perfect record features a double-digit win over Texas Tech. The Cougars have temporarily suspended basketball activities because of COVID-19 issues. | -- | 3-1 |
| 11 |  | Greg Brown finished with 18 points and three blocks in Wednesday's 74-53 victory over Texas State. The Longhorns' 5-1 record features wins over North Carolina and Indiana. | -- | 5-1 |
| 12 |  | Terrence Shannon finished with 15 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 77-57 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christie. The Red Raiders' lone loss is a neutral-court loss to Houston. | -- | 5-1 |
| 13 |  | Brad Davison finished with 17 points, two rebounds and two assists in Tuesday's 77-63 victory over Loyola Chicago. The Badgers' lone loss is a final-second loss at Marquette. | -- | 6-0 |
| 14 |  | Duane Washington Jr. finished with 17 points in Sunday's 67-61 victory over Cleveland State. The Buckeyes' next scheduled game is Wednesday at Purdue. | -- | 4-1 |
| 15 |  | Xavier Pinson finished with 17 points and five assists in Saturday's 81-78 victory over Illinois. Missouri's 5-0 record also includes a win over Oregon. | -- | 4-1 |
| 16 |  | The Bluejays allowed Marquette to shoot 53.6% from the field in Monday's 89-84 loss at home. Creighton's other loss is a one-point defeat at Kansas. | -- | 4-1 |
| 17 |  | Kofi Cockburn finished with 33 points and 13 rebounds in Tuesday's 92-65 victory over Minnesota. The Illini's two losses are away-from-home losses to Baylor and Missouri. | -- | 4-1 |
| 18 |  | Ron Harper Jr. finished with 27 points, five rebounds and four assists in Monday's 74-60 victory at Maryland. The Scarlet Knights' perfect record also features a win over Syracuse. | -- | 4-1 |
| 19 |  | The Blue Devils missed 17 of the 22 3-pointers they attempted in Tuesday's 83-68 loss to Illinois. Duke has now lost two non-league games at home for the first time in nearly 40 years. | -- | 4-1 |
| 20 |  | Armando Bacot finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 73-67 victory over North Carolina Central. Both of UNC's losses are to teams ahead of them in the Top 25 And 1. | -- | 3-1 |
| 21 |  | Jordan Schakel finished with 25 points and six rebounds in Thursday's 80-68 victory at Arizona State. The Aztecs' 5-0 record also features a win over UCLA. | -- | 2-1 |
| 22 |  | Scottie Barnes finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 74-61 victory over Georgia Tech. The Seminoles' perfect record also includes wins over Indiana and Florida. | -- | 5-1 |
| 23 |  | Dre Davis finished with 21 points and two assists in Tuesday's 75-54 victory over Western Kentucky. The Cardinals' 4-0 record also features a win over Seton Hall. | -- | 3-1 |
| 24 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Sunday's 62-58 victory over Penn State. The Wolverines' perfect record also features wins over Toledo and UCF. | -- | 4-1 |
| 25 |  | Jordan Goodwin finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's 78-59 victory over Indiana State. The Billikens' perfect record also features a win over LSU. | -- | 2-2 |
| 26 |  | Javonte Smart finished with 25 points, six rebounds and five assists in Monday's 88-66 victory over Sam Houston State. The Tigers' lone loss is a single-digit loss at Saint Louis. | NR | 4-1 |
