Chattanooga led the entire game, but with less than a minute remaining Illinois rallied to avoid the upset
No. 13 Chattanooga led for all but 25 seconds, as No. 4 Illinois came back to win 54-53 to survive a major upset in the first round.
Chattanooga started the game with a bang, dominating early with a 20-6 lead near the midway point of the first half. But Illinois clawed back through Kofi Cockburn. His 7-foot, 285-pound frame gave the Mocs’ big men fits, leading to foul trouble. At halftime, big men Silvio De Souza and Josh Ayeni had three fouls each while Avery Diggs had two. Even starting power forward KC Hankton injured his ankle when guarding Cockburn in the post. Then, Chattanooga opened the second half on a 7-0 run to take a 40-29 lead. When Illinois desperately needed someone other than Cockburn to step up, Alfonso Plummer delivered with eight big points, including back-to-back 3-pointers, to give Illinois momentum.
Chattanooga then went scoreless for seven-plus minutes, which opened the door for Illinois’ comeback. The Fighting Illini gained a 52-51 lead, its first of the entire game, with 47.1 seconds remaining.