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Kofi Cockburn has been a nearly-unstoppable force for the Fighting Illini, and the league recognized Kofi as the Big Ten Player of the Week for Jan. 31-Feb. 6. It’s Kofi’s third POTW award so far this season, also being honored on Dec. 27 and Jan. 10:
— Illinois Basketball (@IlliniMBB) February 7, 2022
@kxng_alpha#Illini | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/v0ZwVs39I1
#B1GMBBall Weekly Awards Alert
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 7, 2022
Congrats to @IlliniMBB's Kofi Cockburn, the Player of the Week!
Tallied 37 points, 12 rebounds, and a block in an 80-67 win over No. 11 Wisconsin
https://t.co/FFGJILkU34 | #B1G pic.twitter.com/FPEVzZUcWU
The seven-footer boosted his Big Ten and National Player of the Year credentials, averaging 27 points, 68.8% shooting and 10 rebounds for in a pair of Illinois victories:
- 37 points (16-of-19 FG), 12 rebounds, block in 80-67 win versus Wisconsin (Feb. 2)
- 17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, block in 74-57 win @ Indiana (Feb. 5)
Cockburn’s 37-point effort was the second-best of his career, and his 16 made shots were the most by any player against a ranked team this season. He’s also the only player in Division I averaging 20+ points and 10+ rebounds per game.
13th-ranked Illinois will likely need another monster performance from Kofi this week as the Fighting Illini (17-5; 10-2 B1G) head to West Lafayette to challenge the No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers (20-3; 9-3 B1G) Tuesday night.