ALFONSO PLUMMER

Taze Moore scored 21 points, Jamal Shead added 18 and Houston, a Final Four team last season, advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with a 68-53 win over Illinois.

Alfonso Plummer scored 15 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 12 seconds to go, and fourth-seeded Illinois escaped 13th-seeded Chattanooga 54-53 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

No. 20 Illinois locked up a share of the Big Ten regular-season title when Kofi Cockburn had 21 points and 14 rebounds to lead a 74-72 win over No. 24 Iowa.

Donta Scott scored a career-high 25 points and Maryland took advantage of Kofi Cockburn’s absence in an 81-65 victory over No. 17 Illinois.

Sasha Stefanovic scored 22 points, including a go-ahead 3 at the start of double overtime that sent No. 4 Purdue over No. 17 Illinois 96-88.

Kofi Cockburn scored a career-high 38 points to lead No. 14 Illinois to a hard-fought 94-85 win over Texas Rio Grande Valley on Friday night. Illinois (4-2) started slowly, trailing the Vaqueros by as many as 12 points in the first half. Timely buckets from Cockburn and Alfonso Plummer, a transfer guard from Utah, helped the Illini go on a 15-5 run to take a one-point lead at the half.