Indiana forces overtime, but suffers 75-71 loss to No. 12 Illinois

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Trent Frazier scored No. 12 Illinois’ final 10 points in regulation, and the Fighting Illini gave up only one basket in overtime to outlast Indiana 75-71 on Tuesday night.

Frazier finished with 19 points and Kofi Cockburn had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Illinois (12-5, 8-3 Big Ten), which won its third straight overall and snapped a seven-game losing streak on the Hoosiers’ home court.

Trayce Jackson-Davis had 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Hoosiers (9-8, 4-6), who have dropped two straight. Race Thompson had 18 points and eight rebounds.

Illinois hadn’t won at Assembly Hall since 2010 and looked like it might lose again. The Illini trailed 64-58 with five minutes to go.

But Frazier tied it with two 3-pointers and twice put Illinois ahead from the free-throw line. Indiana tied it at 68 on Armaan Franklin‘s layup with 30.5 seconds left.

In overtime, Frazier’s free throw gave Illinois the lead, and its defense made it hold up.

BIG PICTURE

Illinois: There’s no doubt this is a talented team. But playing only four times in a 20-day span with no road trips in the mix has made finding consistency a real challenge. If the Illini can simply stay on the court long enough — and play as well as they did over the final 25 minutes — they may regain their early-season form.

Indiana: The Hoosiers need wins, especially big wins, to impress the NCAA Tournament selection committee over the second half of the season and they nearly got one. They’ll get another chance this weekend, but Indiana needs to start building momentum.

UP NEXT

Illinois: Hosts No. 19 Wisconsin on Saturday.

Indiana: Hopes to pull off a season sweep of No. 8 Iowa on Sunday in Bloomington.