Hawkeyes face familiar big nemesis in Kofi Cockburn of Illinois

The math is simple enough.

You don’t want to carry an 0-2 Big Ten record into January, and you don’t want to carry a two-game losing streak to Iowa State Thursday.

Also, you don’t want to lose, period.

Iowa has another tall order in front of it if is to return to winning Monday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Enter Illinois, winner of its last four games following a 20-point loss to Cincinnati on Nov. 22.

Immediately before the Hawkeyes (7-1) were on the short end of a 77-70 decision at No. 2 Purdue Friday night, Illinois (6-2) opened its Big Ten schedule by mauling Rutgers in Champaign, 86-51.

Senior guard Alfonso Plummer, a transfer from Utah, had his fourth-straight game of at least 20 points for the Illini. Andre Curbelo averages 5.5 assists. Both are from Puerto Rico.

“They’ve got a lot of weapons,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said.

Curbelo is the motor. Kofi Cockburn, from the Virgin Islands, is the body. The 7-foot, 285-pounder pulled out of the NBA Draft, to the chagrin of the 13 other Big Ten teams. He was the conference’s preseason Player of the Year. He averages 24 points and 10.6 rebounds.

“I think he’s playing the best basketball of his life,” McCaffery said Sunday.

Cockburn’s presence was a major reason Illinois has won its last three games against Iowa.

The Hawkeyes could do little with Cockburn last March when Illinois beat Iowa 82-71 in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis. Cockburn had 26 points in 24 minutes.

Iowa’s No. 1 question entering the game is if sophomore forward Keegan Murray will play. He couldn’t compete in Friday’s game because of an ankle injury suffered at Virginia four days earlier.

Murray will play Monday “as far as I know,” McCaffery said. “I’m not 100 percent (sure), to be honest with you. He’s a little better than he was.”

Iowa missed him dearly in the first half at Purdue, which ended with the Hawkeyes down 39-26.

However, the Hawkeyes went from shooting 26.7 percent in the first half to 53.1 in the second, and trailed by just two points late in the game. Murray’s twin brother, Kris, got his first career start. He and several of his teammates like Patrick McCaffery, Tony Perkins and deep reserve Josh Ogundele picked up the slack.

“This is a great confidence-booster for the younger guys,” Fran McCaffery said after the game.

Ogundele, McCaffery said, “is going to be important” Monday in how Iowa deals with Cockburn.

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