Hampton @ Illinois preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 17, 2014 ) Hampton 55, Illinois 73

Kofi Cockburn looks to continue the sensational start to his collegiate career when Illinois hosts Hampton on Saturday. Cockburn scored a team-high 18 points and set a single-game program record for the most rebounds by a freshman with 17 to help lead the Fighting Illini to an 85-57 win over The Citadel on Wednesday, and the 7-footer hopes to lead his team to their fourth consecutive home victory.

"He's imposing and I have been really impressed with how coachable he is and how well he's adapted to college," Illinois coach Brad Underwood told reporters. "It was a record night for Kofi, and I think he's continuing to progress and he's starting to understand that the ball just doesn't come to you, but you have to snatch it." Illinois has won 23 of its last 26 non-conference home games since the start of the 2016-17 season, and it looks to stay on the right track by beating Hampton for the second time following a 73-55 victory in their only previous meeting in 2014. The Fighting Illini, who have outrebounded their opponents 232-143 this season, aim to use their size advantage to overpower the Pirates in the paint. Hampton bounced back from its first loss of the season to William & Mary on Nov. 15 with a 93-50 victory over NCCAA foe Regent University on Thursday and hope to continue its positive start by ending a 10-game losing streak to Power Five opponents since 2010-11.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, No TV

ABOUT HAMPTON (3-1): Benjamin Stanley led all players with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and pulled down 11 rebounds in the win against Regent to register his first double-double of the season. Jermaine Marrow, who is averaging 27 points and six assists, added a season-low 19 points and seven assists, while Davion Warren tallied 15 points after he was held scoreless in his previous outing. Chris Shelton scored 12 points after being limited to a combined three points in his previous two games as the Pirates shot 50.7 percent from the floor.

ABOUT ILLINOIS (4-1): Cockburn broke the previous record of 16 rebounds in a game shared by Deon Thompson (1990) and Damir Krupalija (1999) en route to becoming the first freshman to register four double-double in his five games since DeAndre Ayton (Arizona), who was the first overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, and Brandon McCoy (UNLV) did it in 2017-18. Ayo Dosunmu scored 16 points after he was limited to nine on 4-of-12 shooting in his previous game, while Giorgi Bezhanishvili added 16 points and nine rebounds. Trent Frazier registered nine points and a season-high five assists as the Fighting Illini held the Bulldogs to 28.4 percent shooting from the field.

TIP-INS

1. Cockburn leads all Division I freshmen in double-doubles.

2. Illinois has a rebounding margin of plus-17, good for second in Division I.

3. Cockburn is ranked fourth nationally in rebounds per game (12.6).

PREDICTION: Illinois 86, Hampton 65