Puerto Rican point guard André Curbelo will make his first appearance at the March Madness tournament, in his first year in the NCAA.
The Vega Baja natural canastero on Sunday recalled the reasons why the top sixth man of his conference was chosen by scoring a basket with less than a minute of action going to lead the University of Illinois to the university’s prestigious basketball tournament.
Illinois took a 91-88 win over Ohio University to also take the NCAA Big Ten conference championship.
Curbelo = Coupling pic.twitter.com/FQkYA1zSZl
– CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 14, 2021
Curbelo was the top scorer for Illinois alongside starting point guard Ayo Dosunmu and center Kofi Cockburn with 16 points each.
“Champions of the Big 10. It’s crazy,” Curbelo exclaimed in an Instagram broadcast from the dressing room.
Curbelo – who has just been included in the ideal team of the Big Ten Conference rookies – also scored two important free throws to extend dominance to five points with just 34 seconds of overtime left.
‘Puerto Rico, I love you very much. They are the best. You are my gasoline. We’re going fast because we need one more ring, ”the point guard continued, signing the ball that Illinois entered the prestigious tournament.
Likewise, the canastero of Puerto Rican roots, Trent Frazier, added 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, and a block in the win.
On Friday, Illinois will face Drexel University at the start of the March Madness.