North Carolina A&T @ Illinois preview

Illinois looks to bounce back from a loss in its last game when it hosts North Carolina A&T for a non-conference contest Sunday afternoon. The Fighting Illini are coming off a 63-56 setback to Missouri on Dec. 21, while the Aggies have dropped four straight, with a Dec. 21 loss to Wake Forest being their most recent setback.

North Carolina A&T has had some trouble scoring the ball, with senior forward Ronald Jackson leading the team with 12.9 points and 8.8 rebounds. Problem is, Jackson has to contend with Illinois' 7-foot freshman, Kofi Cockburn, in the paint, as Cockburn is averaging 15.2 points and 9.8 rebounds. Sophomore guard Aye Dosunmu leads the Illini with 15.3 points per game, while senior guard Andres Feliz comes off the bench to contribute 12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists. Illinois has been strong on the boards all season, ranking first in the country in rebound margin (plus-12.7) and third in offensive rebound percentage (40.1).

TV: 2 p.m. ET, ESPNU.

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA A&T (3-10): Although he doesn't score a lot, the key to the North Carolina A&T offense being productive is junior point guard Kameron Langley, who leads the Aggies with 5.1 assists per game. Langley has led the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio the last two seasons, and he has a 1.57 ratio this season. One problem with Langley handling the ball is when he gets fouled, as he's connected on just 58.9 percent of his attempts from the line this season and has had more attempts (56) than anyone else on the Aggies.

ABOUT ILLINOIS (8-4): Cockburn has been as good as advertised coming into this season -- or perhaps even better -- though he's coming off a tough game against Missouri in which he finished with a season-low two rebounds and finished with 13 points with only three field goals. The 7-footer will need to play big the rest of the way if Illinois is going to make a run to the NCAA Tournament, with the Big Ten filled with physical front lines. Cockburn has been good getting to the free-throw line, and converting when he gets there, easily leading the Illini in both free-throw attempts (77) and free throws made (52) this season.

TIP-INS

1. Illinois sophomore G Alan Griffin has started to heat up lately, averaging 11.5 points off the bench over the last two games.

2. Cockburn has already tied the school record for double-doubles by a freshman (six) just 12 games into his first season.

3. Illinois has made 83 more free throws than its opponents have attempted this season and has outscored opponents by an average of 10.1 points per game from the charity stripe.

PREDICTION: Illinois 83, North Carolina A&T 62