This one was all it was hyped up to be.
After leading for the first 25 minutes, the Illini fell behind the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and never led again. No. 19 Rutgers knocked off No. 13 Illinois, 91-88, on Sunday afternoon at the RAC in Piscataway, N.J.
It was clear that this game was going to be a track meet from the get-go. Illinois quickly jumped out to a 10-2 advantage and never surrendered the lead the rest of the period. The Illini made it a point of emphasis to get the halfcourt offense flowing through Kofi Cockburn, who notched 8 points and 8 rebounds in the first half.