The three ways Duke basketball must slow down Illinois

How Duke basketball tops Illinois: Draw Kofi Cockburn away from the basket

Kofi Cockburn is simply a giant man. Standing 7-foot tall and 285 pounds, he can be a load and very difficult to defend when he gets deep post position. Cockburn is one of the best rebounders and paint protectors in the entire country. Duke will need to pull him away from the basket and force him to play out on the perimeter.

If Matthew Hurt continues to get the bulk of the minutes at the five-spot for the Blue Devils, then Cockburn will have to step away from the paint and defend Hurt out beyond the 3-point line.

Illinois has looked vulnerable over its last two games (Ohio and Baylor) because both teams were constantly putting Cockburn in ball-screen situations. Cockburn was not as big of a factor in either of those games because he kept getting burned on the perimeter by smaller guards who could drive right past him.

The sophomore big man played just 18 minutes and scored just seven points against Baylor. I would imagine Duke guards Jordan Goldwire, DJ Steward, and Jeremy Roach will look to use their speed to get downhill and force Cockburn to defend in space.

I would assume freshman Mark Williams could see a few more minutes tonight to put some more size and length on Cockburn. I would be shocked if Duke tries to defend Cockburn one-on-one. I would imagine that the Blue Devils want to double-team Cockburn every time he catches the ball on the block and force him to be a passer instead of a scorer…