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Indiana takes the court against No. 18 Illinois in Assembly Hall after a week-long hiatus.

Brad Underwood has his team sitting at 16-5 (9-2 Big Ten) with sole possession of first place in the Big Ten. The Illini have proven themselves capable of soundly defeating good teams, but have fallen short against the nation's elite. They lost to Purdue in double overtime and Arizona by just four earlier in the season.

The main reason for Illinois's dominance is Kofi Cockburn. Cockburn is tearing the Big Ten apart lately, most notably putting up 37 points and 12 rebounds against Wisconsin on Wednesday. His physicality is unmatched in college basketball and he bullies his way to 22.1 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. Obviously, most of his damage is done in the paint. He currently leads the Big Ten in offensive and defensive rebounds and is 10th in the NCAA in total rebound percentage (21.9).

Illinois' success is so impressive due in part to the fact that star guard Andre Curbelo has barely played all season long. Curbelo suffered a concussion early in the season had a lengthy recovery timeline, only taking part in seven games. When he does play, Curbelo is among the best point guards in the conference and leads his team in assists (4.0 apg). He's shooting just 35 percent from the field, however, and still has turnover issues at 3.0 a game. Illinois is taken to another level if Curbelo plays well but struggles when he has off games.

Fifth-year senior Trent Frazier has taken over the point guard role in Curbelo's absence and has done a stellar job. Frazier can score from all over the court (12.8 ppg) and averages 3.8 assists per game. His ability to create off of the dribble has been greatly improved since last season. He's shooting just 34.6 percent from three this year but is shooting a career-high 50.7 percent on 2s -- 60 percent of his attempts still come from three, but are almost equal when it comes to off of the catch or dribble.

Frazier is joined in the backcourt by Utah transfer Alfonso Plummer, who is one of the best shooters in the whole country. Plummer hits 40.4 percent from beyond the arc and 93.2 percent from the foul line, and he can hit shots off the dribble or catch. He pours in 15.3 points per game, forming one of the most lethal scoring backcourts in the country along with Frazier. He has a quick release on his jumper and is lethal off of the catch. He attempts 7.4 3s per game.

Forward Jacob Grandison is having a great year in his second season for the Illini after transferring from Holy Cross. He is a sniper from deep, hitting on 43.2 percent of his threes -- on 4.8 3s per game -- and recording 10.9 points per game. Grandison will do a bit of everything. He also grabs 4.1 rebounds per game and dishes out 2.1 assists per game. Playing in that stretch '4' for Illinois, it will be potentially be a matchup issue for Indiana with his ability to shoot from deep and create off of the dribble.

Da'Monte Williams is usually the last starter when Curbelo is out, and he fills the stat sheet in a variety of ways. He only scores 4.0 points per game, but he grabs 5.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. After shooting 54 percent from three last season, he is down to just 33.3 percent this year on 2.1 attempts per game.

Underwood uses a deep bench, usually going 10 players deep into the rotation. Coleman Hopkins (5.9 ppg) is a key player, and Fort Wayne native Luke Goode has had some moments as a freshman. Omar Payne (2.2 ppg), Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk (2.2 ppg), and RJ Melendez (2.9 ppg) are all key players off the bench as well.

G - Trent Frazier (Sr; 6-2; 175)

Season Stats: 12.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.8 apg

G - Alfonso Plummer (Sr; 6-1; 182)

Season Stats: 15.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.2 apg

G - Da'Monte Williams (Sr; 6-3; 215)

Season Stats: 4.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.2 apg

F - Jacob Grandison (Sr; 6-6; 205)

Season Stats: 10.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.2 apg

C - Kofi Cockburn (Jr; 7-0; 285)

Season Stats: 22.1 ppg, 11.6 rpg

Indiana's plan to stop Kofi Cockburn. Cockburn has been on a tear lately, most recently dropping 37 and 12 on Wisconsin Wednesday night. Indiana's frontcourt is elite, but they don't have the size to match up with Cockburn.

Trayce Jackson-Davis said in his press conference previewing the game that the Hoosiers would throw a lot of bigs at Cockburn in an effort to slow him down. Michael Durr will be a key player as the only seven-footer on the roster. Durr handled himself well against Purdue's frontcourt tandem, and they will need similar effort Saturday.

On the offensive end, Cockburn has been proven to struggle defending pick and rolls. Indiana's guards have shot poorly in pick and roll actions this season, but they'll need to up their game against Illinois.

Cockburn's size will make things difficult in the post for Jackson-Davis, so the Hoosiers will need to make Cockburn chase him around on screens to free him up.

Who: Indiana (16-5) vs. Illinois (16-5)

When: Saturday, 5th, 12:00 p.m. ET

Where: Bloomington

TV: ESPN (Jason Benetti and Robbie Hummel)

Radio: IU Radio Network with Don Fischer, Errek Suhr and Joe Smith

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QUICK HITTERS

• Indiana is 71-61 all-time against Illinois

• Illinois won both matchups against Indiana last season.

• Illinois has outrebounded 15 of 21 opponents and ranks sixth in the NCAA in rebound margin at +9.1 rpg.

• Kofi Cockburn is 2nd in the Big Ten in points per game (22.1) and 1st in rebounds (11.6)

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