Drexel falls, 78-49, in first round of NCAA Tournament against No. 1 Illinois

Illinois didn’t take long to show why it was a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Drexel took the first lead, but the Illini’s defensive pressure became too much to overcome.

Drexel’s offense couldn’t get in rhythm. In the first 10 minutes, Zach Walton had to force shots over the Fighting Illini’s tough defense as the shot clock winded down, Camren Wynter couldn’t get to his open spots in the midrange, and inside scoring was non-existent.

Drexel hung around for almost 15 minutes before Illinois’ lead ballooned to double digits. The Fighting Illini defeated the Dragons, 78-49 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis.

“Credit to Illinois,” coach Zach Spiker said. “That was a very explosive team offensively. Defensively, they force you to take some tough, tough shots.”

Guarding Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn was essential. The seven-foot, 285-pound center proved to be tough to handle on both ends. He eliminated Drexel’s paint scoring and was a load inside on offense. Cockburn, a sophomore, had 18 points and two blocks in 20 minutes.

Drexel (12-8) believed that it could have success putting Cockburn in ball screens and forcing him to come out of the paint. Cockburn didn’t leave his comfort area often. When James Butler had the ball at the top of the key, Illinois’ defenders chased Drexel’s shooters and forced Butler to take an uncomfortable deep midrange shot or make a tight pass.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to hit more today,” Butler said. “It’s something that I’m comforting with and I’m definitely looking to expand my game and make myself more of an offensive threat.”

The three-pointer was the key to Drexel’s late-season run. The Dragons shot 50% or better from three in their CAA tournament games. Illinois (24-6) held them to 7-for-20 shooting.

“They don’t give you many clean looks from three,” Spiker said. “They’re able, with their size, to protect the rim, so you get stuck in midrange shots. I thought the quality of our shots was not as good as they had been throughout the season.”

Illinois shot 57% overall and Drexel shot 31%. Butler had 10 points and 10 rebounds and Xavier Bell led the Dragons with 12. Wynter, Drexel’s leading scorer, was held to six points on 3-for-13 shooting.

Spiker said before the game that Drexel “definitely” would employ a zone defense. A zone would have made inside looks tougher for Cockburn, but could have opened the floodgates for Illini three-pointers. Many people believed Drexel would have to play zone, but the Dragons didn’t.

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It was Drexel’s first NCAA Tournament game in 25 seasons, and the experience is a building block. Wynter will be one of the CAA’s top players next season, Bell should take a nice scoring jump in his second season, and between Mate Okros and T.J. Bickerstaff, one is likely to take their scoring to another level.

“I hope that for Drexel and for our players that are coming back, this is an understanding and game where we can learn from this and do whatever we can to get back,” Spiker said.

Of the key rotation players, Butler is a fourth-year junior and Walton is a sixth-year senior. Butler said after the game that he will “see what this offseason brings.”

“I really think we have a great team and it would be pretty awesome to come back to the NCAA Tournament next year,” Butler said.