Minnesota offered a decent challenge for Illinois but eventually the Illini pulled away to win 77-67. After a competitive first half that saw the game tied 34-34, Illinois made the necessary adjustments to build a cushion and hold on to beat the Gophers for their 7th consecutive win.
THE STAT: It was mentioned in the 3 Keys preview that rebounding was going to be an important factor, and it absolutely was. The Illini finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds, which was about 46% of their overall misses. This is the second game in their three-game losing streak where Minnesota has given up over 45% of defensive rebounds.
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TURNING POINT: The Gophers used an effective zone defense for most of the first half that frustrated Illinois. The Illini did manage to stay in the game, but it took a few deep and contested threes to do so. Obviously not the shots that Brad Underwood wanted from his offense. They made half-time adjustments and not only looked much more comfortable offensively, but they also continued to bring home offensive rebounds against the Gopher zone.
HOT: Jaylen Crocker-Johnson led the Gophers with 22 points and eight rebounds while shooting 5/12 from three. His minutes were a little limited due to foul trouble, but when the big man was in, the rebounding was better. But most notable was Crocker-Johnson’s start to the game, scoring the first 11 points for Minnesota going 3/3 from three and forcing Underwood to burn a very early timeout.
NOT: The Gopher bench continues to be a major area of weakness for this team. Kai Shinholster made one of three attempts from three and Grayson Grove had one put-back dunk. Obviously, the injuries have been mounting for the Gophers this season, this has forced bench players into starting roles and Niko Medved has had to go with an extremely short bench. Squeezing more production out of Grove and Shinholster would help tremendously.
GOOD MOVE: The Gopher match-up zone in the first half was effective. Medved was switching defenses to keep Illinois off-balance, but it also helped to save the legs of his starters.
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BAD MOVE: The zone was ineffective in the second half. They weren’t exactly shutting down Illinois with their man-to-man either, but their 8/14 from three in the second half speaks for itself.
UP NEXT: On Tuesday, the Gophers head to Columbus to face Ohio State at 5:30 on BTN. The Buckeyes beat UCLA today at home.
