Minnesota traveled to Illinois with a 13-3 record and 3-2 in the Big Ten. Their host was winless in five league games and were 4-12 overall. What had all the makings of a nice road trip for the Gophers turned into an avalanche as the Fighting Illini pounded Minnesota 95-68.
The showing or no-show by the Gophers was perplexing. Nobody envisioned a 27-point throttling that saw the deficit get into the thirties. It is also perplexing how a really bad team can show up at times despite some nice wins and a pleasing record.
Yet in the four losses, Richard Pitino’s team has been underwhelming in three. They went through the motions in a 68-56 loss to a mediocre team. Early in December, they lost 79-59 to Ohio State, but despite those performances, tonight’s effort in Champaign was a low.
Illinois started out early by doing three things: getting out on the break, pressure defense with double teams, and converting 3-pointers. They got early long balls from Tevian Jones and Trent Frazier plus a fast break layup from Ayo Dosunmu to take a 9-7 lead at the first timeout break.
Dosunmu connected with the team’s second 3-pointer immediately after the timeout. One problem Minnesota had problems with early on was the pressure defense forced them to initiate their offense far out on the floor. Minnesota tried to answer with the drive and kick. Amir Coffey had a quick three and Gabe Kalscheur also hit an outside jumper but overall the offense was disrupted. They actually had two straight possessions where the shot clock expired.
We thought coming into the game that Minnesota could dominate the inside game and the boards. But seven minutes into the game, they were behind 8 to 1in rebounds. Illinois also scored six straight points from their posts as they began to pound the ball inside. Daniel Oturu answered with two straight buckets of his own, but Minnesota trailed 20-13 with 11:36 left in the first half.
Aaron Gordon stretched the lead to double digits with just over ten minutes left on yet another 3-pointer to make the score 23-13. The Gophers’ saving grace was that they went into the bonus with 10:06 left. The pressure defense had a huge impact on the Minnesota offense, but Illinois also piled up fouls in the process.
But on the other end, Minnesota was being ravaged. Two straight scores from Andres Feliz and then a 3-pointer by Dosunmu stretched the lead to 28-15 at the 9:20 mark. Giorgi Bezhanishvili continued to do work on the Gopher bigs. He got tremendous position in the post and had 8 points and 4 rebounds when the Fighting Illini took a 32-17 lead into the eight minute media timeout.
Pitino went to a 2-2-1 press into a 2-3 zone out of the break. Dosunmu shredded that with another made 3-pointer and brought them out of it on the next possession. But the Gophers did decide to speed up the pace and the effort. Oturu hit two foul shots. Jordan Murphy got a dunk in transition. But a flagrant one on Murphy for a hook and hold gave Illinois two foul shots and possession in which they turned into four points and put the Illinois lead up to 18. A Dupree McBrayer pullup brought the score to 41-25 with 3:10 left in the half.
Minnesota could get no closer in the first half. Pitino’s worst nightmare came true when Illinois got the fast break going and finished out the half on a roll. It was total domination both offensively and defensively as Illinois took a 51-28 lead into the locker room.
The statistical comparisons were just as drastic. Illinois shot 61.3 percent in the first half, Minnesota 35.7. Illinois was 6 for 9 from deep compared to 1 of 8 for the Gophers. Free throw attempts and makes were basically dead even. The Fighting Illini surprisingly owned the boards 20-9. Minnesota’s guards couldn’t drive against the overplaying defense even on switches when big men ended up on guards. The pressure was relentless and it took its toll. The ball was so far out on the floor passes couldn’t get into the post. Murphy and Oturu only had three shot attempts apiece. The energy also went over to the rebounding portion of the game.
Murphy and Oturu both had 6 at the half. Coffey and Eric Curry had 5, Kalscheur, McBrayer, and Isaiah Washington all added 2.
Minnesota came out in the second half like a different team early on. The defense in the half court was much better and Amir Coffey looked to push the ball after every defensive rebound or turnover. The challenge that Pitino gave his team was to chip back steadily. They won the first four minutes 9-3 to make the score 54-37 with 15:48 left.
Underwood lit into his team during the timeout and they answered the bell with seven straight points to move the lead to 61-37 and force Pitino to burn a timeout with just over fourteen minutes remaining.
The stoppage in play didn’t help. Jordan hit a 3. Dosunmu scored in transition and was fouled. He missed a free throw, but Bezhanishvili got the rebound and a put-back to move the lead out to 68-37. Oturu scored for Minnesota to stop a 14-0 run.
From there, the outcome was never in doubt and the scoring was tit for tat from there as Illinois cruised for a 95-66 victory.
For the game, Illinois made eleven more field goals than Minnesota. The Gophers were 26 for 59 from the field for 44.1 percent. They were a woeful 3 for 14 from behind the arc. They got to the line 19 times and made 13 for a 68.4 percent clip.
Minnesota’s ball movement and assists compared to made buckets have been some of the best in the country. On Wednesday night, it was non-existent. They had only 8 assists on 26 makes thanks to the harassment. They also had 15 turnovers which almost doubled their number of feeds.
Despite the abysmal performance, the freshman post, Daniel Oturu, proved that he is on his way to an outstanding career. He had 17 points and 8 rebounds. He was 7 for 10 from the field. Jordan Murphy was the only other Gopher in double figures. He had 11 points and only 3 rebounds. He also had a mere six field goal attempts and three free throws.
The Big Ten’s leading scorer, Amir Coffey, only mustered 9 points. He was 2 for 13 from the field. It seemed every time he got into the lane there was help waiting on him and forcing him to finish through contact. Coffey ended up on his back several times after getting off shots in the lane.
Isaiah Washington came off the bench for 8 points on 3 of 4 shooting along with four assists. Gabe Kalscheur, Dupree McBrayer, and Eric Curry all had seven points apiece. They were a combined 9 for 24 and 2 for 10 from 3-point territory. Michael Hurt had 2. Jarvis Omersa and Brock Stull played and didn’t score.
Illinois on the other hand was 56.1 percent from the field and went 8 for 16 on 3-pointers. They were also 13 for 15 from the foul line.
Perhaps the most surprising number of the night was their 39 to 26 rebounding advantage that included 12 offensive boards. Of course when you make your shots and the other team doesn’t you have a good chance to grab more boards. But this was still a matchup that pitted the best rebounding team in the league against the worst.
Giorgi Bezhanishvili dominated the paint with 20 points and 8 rebounds. Ayo Dosumnu was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points that included 9 for 13 shooting and three trifectas. Trent Frazier also had 15.
Minnesota’s next game will be Saturday night as they host Penn State.
The showing or no-show by the Gophers was perplexing. Nobody envisioned a 27-point throttling that saw the deficit get into the thirties. It is also perplexing how a really bad team can show up at times despite some nice wins and a pleasing record.
Yet in the four losses, Richard Pitino’s team has been underwhelming in three. They went through the motions in a 68-56 loss to a mediocre team. Early in December, they lost 79-59 to Ohio State, but despite those performances, tonight’s effort in Champaign was a low.
Illinois started out early by doing three things: getting out on the break, pressure defense with double teams, and converting 3-pointers. They got early long balls from Tevian Jones and Trent Frazier plus a fast break layup from Ayo Dosunmu to take a 9-7 lead at the first timeout break.
Dosunmu connected with the team’s second 3-pointer immediately after the timeout. One problem Minnesota had problems with early on was the pressure defense forced them to initiate their offense far out on the floor. Minnesota tried to answer with the drive and kick. Amir Coffey had a quick three and Gabe Kalscheur also hit an outside jumper but overall the offense was disrupted. They actually had two straight possessions where the shot clock expired.
We thought coming into the game that Minnesota could dominate the inside game and the boards. But seven minutes into the game, they were behind 8 to 1in rebounds. Illinois also scored six straight points from their posts as they began to pound the ball inside. Daniel Oturu answered with two straight buckets of his own, but Minnesota trailed 20-13 with 11:36 left in the first half.
Aaron Gordon stretched the lead to double digits with just over ten minutes left on yet another 3-pointer to make the score 23-13. The Gophers’ saving grace was that they went into the bonus with 10:06 left. The pressure defense had a huge impact on the Minnesota offense, but Illinois also piled up fouls in the process.
But on the other end, Minnesota was being ravaged. Two straight scores from Andres Feliz and then a 3-pointer by Dosunmu stretched the lead to 28-15 at the 9:20 mark. Giorgi Bezhanishvili continued to do work on the Gopher bigs. He got tremendous position in the post and had 8 points and 4 rebounds when the Fighting Illini took a 32-17 lead into the eight minute media timeout.
Pitino went to a 2-2-1 press into a 2-3 zone out of the break. Dosunmu shredded that with another made 3-pointer and brought them out of it on the next possession. But the Gophers did decide to speed up the pace and the effort. Oturu hit two foul shots. Jordan Murphy got a dunk in transition. But a flagrant one on Murphy for a hook and hold gave Illinois two foul shots and possession in which they turned into four points and put the Illinois lead up to 18. A Dupree McBrayer pullup brought the score to 41-25 with 3:10 left in the half.
Minnesota could get no closer in the first half. Pitino’s worst nightmare came true when Illinois got the fast break going and finished out the half on a roll. It was total domination both offensively and defensively as Illinois took a 51-28 lead into the locker room.
The statistical comparisons were just as drastic. Illinois shot 61.3 percent in the first half, Minnesota 35.7. Illinois was 6 for 9 from deep compared to 1 of 8 for the Gophers. Free throw attempts and makes were basically dead even. The Fighting Illini surprisingly owned the boards 20-9. Minnesota’s guards couldn’t drive against the overplaying defense even on switches when big men ended up on guards. The pressure was relentless and it took its toll. The ball was so far out on the floor passes couldn’t get into the post. Murphy and Oturu only had three shot attempts apiece. The energy also went over to the rebounding portion of the game.
Murphy and Oturu both had 6 at the half. Coffey and Eric Curry had 5, Kalscheur, McBrayer, and Isaiah Washington all added 2.
Minnesota came out in the second half like a different team early on. The defense in the half court was much better and Amir Coffey looked to push the ball after every defensive rebound or turnover. The challenge that Pitino gave his team was to chip back steadily. They won the first four minutes 9-3 to make the score 54-37 with 15:48 left.
Underwood lit into his team during the timeout and they answered the bell with seven straight points to move the lead to 61-37 and force Pitino to burn a timeout with just over fourteen minutes remaining.
The stoppage in play didn’t help. Jordan hit a 3. Dosunmu scored in transition and was fouled. He missed a free throw, but Bezhanishvili got the rebound and a put-back to move the lead out to 68-37. Oturu scored for Minnesota to stop a 14-0 run.
From there, the outcome was never in doubt and the scoring was tit for tat from there as Illinois cruised for a 95-66 victory.
For the game, Illinois made eleven more field goals than Minnesota. The Gophers were 26 for 59 from the field for 44.1 percent. They were a woeful 3 for 14 from behind the arc. They got to the line 19 times and made 13 for a 68.4 percent clip.
Minnesota’s ball movement and assists compared to made buckets have been some of the best in the country. On Wednesday night, it was non-existent. They had only 8 assists on 26 makes thanks to the harassment. They also had 15 turnovers which almost doubled their number of feeds.
Despite the abysmal performance, the freshman post, Daniel Oturu, proved that he is on his way to an outstanding career. He had 17 points and 8 rebounds. He was 7 for 10 from the field. Jordan Murphy was the only other Gopher in double figures. He had 11 points and only 3 rebounds. He also had a mere six field goal attempts and three free throws.
The Big Ten’s leading scorer, Amir Coffey, only mustered 9 points. He was 2 for 13 from the field. It seemed every time he got into the lane there was help waiting on him and forcing him to finish through contact. Coffey ended up on his back several times after getting off shots in the lane.
Isaiah Washington came off the bench for 8 points on 3 of 4 shooting along with four assists. Gabe Kalscheur, Dupree McBrayer, and Eric Curry all had seven points apiece. They were a combined 9 for 24 and 2 for 10 from 3-point territory. Michael Hurt had 2. Jarvis Omersa and Brock Stull played and didn’t score.
Illinois on the other hand was 56.1 percent from the field and went 8 for 16 on 3-pointers. They were also 13 for 15 from the foul line.
Perhaps the most surprising number of the night was their 39 to 26 rebounding advantage that included 12 offensive boards. Of course when you make your shots and the other team doesn’t you have a good chance to grab more boards. But this was still a matchup that pitted the best rebounding team in the league against the worst.
Giorgi Bezhanishvili dominated the paint with 20 points and 8 rebounds. Ayo Dosumnu was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points that included 9 for 13 shooting and three trifectas. Trent Frazier also had 15.
Minnesota’s next game will be Saturday night as they host Penn State.
