Cockburn scores 33 as No. 13 Illinois routs Minnesota 92-65
13 Illinois past Minnesota 92-65 in the Big Ten opener for both teams Tuesday night. Freshman guard Adam Miller added 14 points, while Trent Frazier and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 10 for Illinois (5-2). Illinois went on several runs, including a 22-5 spurt fueled by back-to-back 3s from Frazier to end the half. Illinois has struggled with turnovers this season and committed 14 against Minnesota. The outcome was never in question in the second half and Illinois used its defense and quickness to put away the Gophers.
Illinois fires coach Lovie Smith after 5 seasons
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. โ Illinois fired coach Lovie Smith on Sunday with a game left in its ninth consecutive losing season. Smith became Illinois' first Black head football coach when he was hired by athletic director Josh Whitman in March 2016. The longtime NFL coach went 17-39 in five seasons at the school. Smithโs original deal was for six years and $21 million, but he received a two-year extension through 2023 after Illinois went 4-8 in his third season. The slide continued into this year, with Illinois losing its first three by a combined 117-45 score.
Former Illinois, New Mexico St coach Lou Henson dies at 88
I just think that Lou is probably the most underrated coach in college basketball, former Illinois and pro player Stephen Bardo said. And for years after Henson left the sidelines, he and his wife, Mary, were widely loved, unofficial ambassadors for both Illinois and New Mexico State and the towns where theyre located, Champaign, Illinois, and Las Cruces, New Mexico. Seriously who doesnt love him? said former NBA player Reggie Theus, who succeeded Henson at New Mexico State and considered him a mentor. Henson, a native of Okay, Oklahoma, played college basketball at New Mexico State in the early 1950s. A son, 35-year-old Lou Henson Jr., died in a 1992 car accident.