Northwestern had a 15-point lead at halftime. As a team, the Wildcats had only 13 points in the second half.
Despite trailing by as many as 16 points in the first half, Illinois dominated Northwestern in the final 20 minutes on Thursday night. In the process, the Illini grabbed their fifth straight win over Northwestern, 81-56, in Evanston.
In the first half Kofi Cockburn put up a pedestrian five points and he picked up just two rebounds. In the second half — much like the rest of the team — the beast was awakened.
Cockburn picked up a double-double in the second half alone, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds — he finished with 18 and 12.