Illinois 84, Minnesota 71
State Farm Center // Feb. 28, 2016 // Attendance: 12,008

Recap | Box Score | Photos

1. Illinois improved to 121-65 in the all-time series against Minnesota with Sunday's 84-71 victory over the Gophers. The Illini are 2-0 against the Gophers this season and are 71-18 vs. the Gophers in Champaign, including the last two. Head coach John Groce improves to 5-2 over Minnesota.
2. Illinois honored three seniors prior to the game including Khalid Lewis, Mike Thorne Jr. and Mike LaTulip. Lewis finished with seven points, four assists, two steals and a block in his final game at State Farm Center. He tied his career-bests with his two steals and one block and was just one shot away from matching his Illinois career-high of nine points in a game.
3. Illinois was outstanding in the second half of the game, shooting 73.9-percent from the field (17-of-23) and 93.3-percent from the charity stripe (14-of-15) compared to 42.3-percent and 57.1-percent, respectively, in the first half.
4. The Orange and Blue forced 11 Minnesota turnovers in the second half after six in the first half. UI grabbed nine of its season-high 13 steals after the break. The Illini also recorded all 12 of their fast-break points in the second half and scored 20 points off turnovers for the game.
5. Freshman Jalen Coleman-Lands drained five three-pointers on Sunday, going 5-for-6 from distance. He holds Illinois' true freshman record for three-pointers in a season with 75 thus far and has made three or more triples in 16 games this season, he has made five or more treys in five of those contests.
6. Coleman-Lands has knocked down three or more treys in six of the last seven games, and he has hit 28 three-pointers in that span averaging more than 15 points per game.
7. Kendrick Nunn recorded four steals, matching his season high which he originally set against Missouri on Dec. 23, 2015. His career-high currently stands at 5, which he swiped against Penn State on Jan. 10. Nunn finished with a game-high 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting.
8. As a team the Illini swiped 13 steals, a new season high. The Illini previously recorded 10 steals in two games this season. 
9. Junior Malcolm Hill also racked up four steals, matching his career-high for the third time this season. He last hit that mark against Notre Dame on Dec. 2, 2015. He finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block.
10. After falling behind 11-0 and trailing Minnesota for the entire first half, Illinois scored four consecutive points before the halftime break and continued on a 13-3 run to start the second half and take the lead over the Gophers (17-3 run total). Illinois outscored Minnesota 29-8 in the first ten minutes of the second half to break the game open.  
11. Kendrick Nunn and Malcolm Hill combined for 47 points on Sunday, more than 55-percent of Illinois' scoring in the game.
12. Malcolm Hill went 8-for-8 from the charity stripe, the sixth time this year that he has not missed a free throw in a game. Hill is now 168-for-205 from the line this season (.820), currently tied for fourth on the Illinois season made free throws list.  
13. Illinois trailed Minnesota by eight points at the half, going on to win by 13 points. The Illini have won five games when trailing at halftime this season. UI is also 11-5 when scoring 70 or more points.  
14. Junior Maverick Morgan tallied four blocks, matching his career and season high figures. He previously rejected four shots at Rutgers on Feb. 17.