Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Illinois Fighting Illini
· Big Ten/ACC Challenge
Cockburn, Plummer lead Illinois past Notre Dame 82-72
Cockburn, a preseason All-American and player of the year candidate, leads the nation in scoring at 26.6 points per game. He did not take a shot in the first 12 minutes but finished the first half with 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting. For the game, he was 11 of 16 from the field and made 6 of 9 free throws.
Cockburn scored eight points early in the second half and his dunk with 14:50 remaining gave the Illini a 56-43 lead. Jacob Grandison's 3-pointer extended the lead to 59-43.
At that point, the pace slowed down for Illinois and Notre Dame drew within 67-62 when Cormac Ryan hit a 3-pointer with just under six minutes to go.
Illinois (4-2) pushed the lead to 71-63 at the final official timeout then made 11 of 12 free throws in the final three minutes, including 8 for 8 by Plummer.
Freshman Blake Wesley led Notre Dame with a season-high 24 points off the bench. Dane Goodwin had 15 points and Nate Leszewski scored 13 for the Fighting Irish (3-3).
The matchup paired two of the top 15 schools in all-time victories. With 1,840 wins, Illinois is 15th on the list and Notre Dame is eighth with 1,918 wins.
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Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 72 - 82 |
| 2nd 0:07 | Blake Wesley Turnover. | 72 - 82 |
| 2nd 0:12 | Alfonso Plummer made Free Throw. | 72 - 82 |
| 2nd 0:12 | Alfonso Plummer made Free Throw. | 72 - 81 |
| 2nd 0:12 | Foul on Trey Wertz. | 72 - 80 |
Statistics
 ND |
 ILL |
|
|---|---|---|
| 28-61 | FG | 28-53 |
| 46 | Field Goal % | 53 |
| 8-22 | 3PT | 11-27 |
| 36 | Three Point % | 41 |
| 8-12 | FT | 15-19 |
| 67 | Free Throw % | 79 |
| 29 | Rebounds | 33 |
| 10 | Offensive Rebounds | 8 |
| 19 | Defensive Rebounds | 25 |
| 10 | Assists | 19 |
| 5 | Steals | 2 |
| 2 | Blocks | 2 |
| 8 | Turnovers | 12 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 8 | Total Turnovers | 12 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Points Off Turnovers | 0 |
| 0 | Fast Break Points | 0 |
| 0 | Points in Paint | 0 |
| 19 | Fouls | 16 |
| 4 | Largest Lead | 16 |
Game Information
Location: Champaign, IL
Attendance: 14,907 | Capacity:
2025-26 Atlantic Coast Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 17-1 | - | 30-2 |
| Virginia | 15-3 | 2 | 28-4 |
| Miami | 13-5 | 4 | 25-7 |
| North Carolina | 12-6 | 5 | 24-8 |
| Clemson | 12-6 | 5 | 24-9 |
| Louisville | 11-7 | 6 | 23-10 |
| NC State | 10-8 | 7 | 20-13 |
| Florida State | 10-8 | 7 | 18-15 |
| California | 9-9 | 8 | 21-11 |
| Stanford | 9-9 | 8 | 20-12 |
| SMU | 8-10 | 9 | 20-13 |
| Virginia Tech | 8-10 | 9 | 19-13 |
| Wake Forest | 7-11 | 10 | 17-16 |
| Syracuse | 6-12 | 11 | 15-17 |
| Pittsburgh | 5-13 | 12 | 13-20 |
| Notre Dame | 4-14 | 13 | 13-18 |
| Boston College | 4-14 | 13 | 11-20 |
| Georgia Tech | 2-16 | 15 | 11-20 |
2025-26 Big Ten Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 19-1 | - | 29-2 |
| Nebraska | 15-5 | 4 | 26-5 |
| Michigan State | 15-5 | 4 | 25-6 |
| Illinois | 15-5 | 4 | 24-7 |
| Wisconsin | 14-6 | 5 | 23-9 |
| Purdue | 13-7 | 6 | 24-8 |
| UCLA | 13-7 | 6 | 22-10 |
| Ohio State | 12-8 | 7 | 21-11 |
| Iowa | 10-10 | 9 | 21-12 |
| Indiana | 9-11 | 10 | 18-14 |
| Minnesota | 8-12 | 11 | 15-17 |
| USC | 7-13 | 12 | 18-14 |
| Washington | 7-13 | 12 | 16-17 |
| Rutgers | 6-14 | 13 | 14-19 |
| Northwestern | 5-15 | 14 | 15-19 |
| Oregon | 5-15 | 14 | 12-20 |
| Maryland | 4-16 | 15 | 12-21 |
| Penn State | 3-17 | 16 | 12-20 |