After Illinois lost to Missouri on Saturday, Illini guards Ayo Dosunmu and Trent Frazier separately made the same vow to coach Brad Underwood. They promised, we’ve got this.

“When you get that type of leadership from veteran guards, I felt great,” Underwood said.

The No. 13 Illini bounced back to start the Big Ten season with a strong statement, beating Minnesota 92-65 on Tuesday night in Champaign.

They endured a challenging nonconference slate with a loss to No. 2 Baylor before taking down then-No. 10 Duke on the road, then stumbling against rival Mizzou.

“They know it’s a long year,” Underwood said. “There’s ups and downs. We can’t go change the outcome of the game we lost. All we can do is learn from it.”

The Illini (5-2, 1-0) looked they had wised up against the Gophers (6-1, 0-1). Center Kofi Cockburn led the way with a career-high 33 points and added 13 rebounds for his 16th career double-double.

“He was dominant,” Underwood said.

So was Illinois.

Here are four takeaways from the victory.

1. Kofi Cockburn keeps the motor running: Underwood said the bench often yells, “Motor,” to remind Cockburn to keep up his energy level. He never took his foot off the pedal against Minnesota.

The 7-foot sophomore shot 12 of 15 from the floor, taking perfect lobs and feeds from the Illini guards for five dunks. Cockburn helped control the paint, where Illinois outscored Minnesota 48-14, including 22-2 in the first half.

The Illini outrebounded Minnesota 53-35, getting four offensive boards from Cockburn.

“He’s the best big in the country,” Frazier said.

Cockburn also showed some improvement at the free-throw line, where he made 9 of 15. Underwood said he has been “conscientious” about making more free throws.

“I rush my routine sometimes,” Cockburn said. Underwood tells him, “Go to the line, step up, be confident, breathe, do your routine, hit your shot.”

2. Illinois takes pride in defense: Illinois’ defense may have gotten a little too intricate. Underwood conceded he might have schemed too much in previous games.

With players who take pride in defense, he said, sometimes it’s fine to simplify things and let them go man-to-man.

Minnesota shot 27.5% as Illinois forced some of the Gophers’ key players into quiet performances.

The Illini focused on containing Gophers guard Marcus Carr, who entered averaging 23.8 points.

Underwood’s plan was for “Marcus Carr (to see) nothing but bodies in front of him” when he touched the ball. He scored 16 points on 3-of-13 shooting.

Guard Both Gach, who was averaging 15.3 points, didn’t score until a free throw in the final five minutes and finished with one point. Center Liam Robbins was no match for Cockburn, fouling out in just 16 minutes with 10 points and two rebounds.

“We were just very locked in on details tonight,” Frazier said. “We preached about it a lot after the Mizzou game going into the Big Ten. Every night is going to be a battle. They make you pay for mistakes.”

So it’s best not to make many.

3. Cleaning up the fouls is a work in progress: Underwood bemoaned the Illini’s frequent unnecessary fouls against Missouri. They allowed Minnesota to shoot 32 free throws (making 20), but the fouls weren’t as egregious.

One reason Illinois’ younger players haven’t quite adjusted to the officiating, Underwood said, is the lack of referees at practice.

Last season the Illini brought in refs to several practices a week to make foul calls. Because of COVID-19 safety protocols, they can’t do that this season.

The sound of a whistle?

“Our guys haven’t gotten used to that,” Underwood said. “We’re going to have some growing pains there.”

4. Illinois showed more balance: Against Missouri, it was a one-man show with a career-high 36 points from Dosunmu.

It was a different story on Cockburn’s career night.

Dosunmu had to try to get Illinois back in the game against the Tigers, and there was a lack of balance.

The game plan Tuesday called for Cockburn to get a lot of inside looks, and his scoring spree came in the flow of the game. Illinois had better overall production and efficiency in many areas.

The Illini moved the ball with snap, totaling 21 assists on 34 field goals. Nine of those assists came from freshman Andre Curbelo.

Dosunmu scored 10 points with seven rebounds and five assists, while Frazier also scored 10.

Freshman Adam Miller overcame foul trouble to score 14 points, making 4 of 9 3-pointers.

“There was plenty to go around,” Underwood said. “It’s a good feeling when you look around and your best player, best guard, was unbelievable at the defensive end. He didn’t have to score big and we still won. That’s really comforting.”