No. 1-seeded Illinois Falls To No. 8 Loyola Chicago

The Illini trailed 15-6 midway through the first half as the Ramblers jumped ahead early by forcing six Illinois turnovers in the first ten minutes of action. The

Orange and Blue began to creep back into the game late in the first half, going 3-for-3 from the field to close the gap to single digits after trailing by 14 with just over a minute to go in the half. Illinois was held to a season-low 24 points in the first half and trailed by nine heading into the locker room.
Illinois came out strong to start the second half, narrowing the deficit with a pair of big buckets from Kofi Cockburn.

Trailing by ten with nine minutes to play in the second half, the Illini closed the gap to eight points. Illinois would trade scores back-and-forth with the Ramblers throughout the second half and eventually get within seven points with 1:36 to play, but ultimately could not complete the comeback as they failed to get consecutive stops on the defensive end.

Illinois finishes the season 24-7.

NOTES

Illinois won 15 of its last 17 games, including the Big Ten Tournament title. 

Illinois is 41-32 (.562) all-time in NCAA Tournament games. Illinois made its 31st NCAA Tournament appearance.

Illinois finished the season 7-3 against teams ranked in the top 10 in kenpom. Loyola Chicago was ranked No. 9 by kenpom entering the game.

Illinois won seven games against AP Top 25 teams. The Illini single-season record for wins over top-25 teams is nine, set in 1989.

Illinois was a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time, owning a record of 13-4 all-time. 

Illinois was playing in Indianapolis in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time, and first since 2005. The Illini are 6-3 all-time in the NCAAs in Indianapolis (first six games played at the RCA Dome).

Ayo Dosunmu finished the season averaging 20.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. He is just the second Big Ten player since 1993 to average 20 points, six rebounds and five assists, joining Ohio State's Evan Turner, the National Player of the Year in 2009-10. Dosunmu is the only player in the NCAA over the last 11 seasons to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Dosunmu is 12th in Illinois history with 1,504 career points. 

Trent Frazier is 19th in Illinois history with 1,434 career points and fourth in career three-pointers with 247.

Kofi Cockburn had a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds. 

Cockburn finished the season with 16 double-doubles, tied for the fifth-most in a single season in Illinois history.

Among the day’s other results: Number 12 Oregon State beat fourth-seeded Oklahoma State 80-70; Number 15 Oral Roberts topped Number 7 Florida 81-78; and Number 11 Syracuse downed third-seeded West Virginia 75-72.

With those three upsets, there are now three double-digit seeds that have reached the Sweet Sixteen so far, with eight more second-round games set for today.

NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT (Second Round):

Loyola Chicago 71, Illinois 58

Baylor 76, Wisconson 63

Syracuse 75, West Virginia 72

Arkansas 68, Texas Tech 66

Houston 63, Rutgers 60

Oral Roberts 81, Florida 78

Villanova 84, North Texas 61

Oregon State 80, Oklahoma State 70 

NCAA WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT (First Round):

Iowa 87, Central Michigan 72

Virginia Tech 70, Marquette 63

Oklahoma State 84, Wake Forest 61

Kentucky 71, Idaho State 63

Tennessee 87, Middle Tennessee 62

Michigan 87, Florida Gulf Coast 66

NC State 79, North Carolina AT&T 58

Baylor 101, Jackson State 52

Georgia Tech 54, Stephen F. Austin 52 (OT)

Syracuse 72, South Dakota State 55

South Carolina 79, Mercer 53

Oregon State 83, Florida State 59

UConn 102, High Point 59

West Virginia 77, Lehigh 53

South Florida 57, Washington State 53

Stanford 87, Utah Valley 44