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MINNEAPOLIS – Illinois extended its winning streak to four games with a 78-60 road win over Minnesota at Williams Arena on Monday night. Four different Illini finished with double figures, 10 different players registered at least two points, and the defense came to play once again in the 18-point victory.
The win was the team's fifth consecutive win over the Golden Gophers, and the Illini have turned their conference record around and now sit above .500 in conference play for the first time this season.
Illinois outscored Minnesota by 15 points and held the Golden Gophers to 27.6 percent and just eight field goals in the second half in the win.
The Illini commanded the paint, out-rebounding Minnesota, 50-29, which included 14 offensive rebounds and a season-high 36 defensive rebounds. Illinois took advantage by scoring 14 second-chance points and seven fast-break points, while the Illini scored 54 points in the paint.Â
Matthew Mayer registered his first double-double of the season with a game-high 19 points and 10 rebounds. Mayer also made two blocks and one steal while shooting 57 percent from the floor and 50 percent on 3-point attempts.
Dain Dainja scored 11 points, his second straight double-digit scoring night of the year. Dainja grabbed four rebounds and made two assists and one block, while he converted five of his six field-goal attempts.
Terrence Shannon Jr. recorded 11 points, four rebounds, four assists, and one steal, while Jayden Epps tallied 10 points, two rebounds, two blocks, and one assist off the bench.
Sencire Harris put together one of his best games in an Illinois uniform with seven points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Fellow freshman Ty Rodgers scored a career-high eight points and grabbed eight rebounds in his 22 minutes of action, his most in a Big Ten game this season.
Dainja got going early, knocking down his first two shots of the night for a quick four points. Just over one minute later, a Sencire Harris 3-pointer, his first since Dec. 29, and two Matthew Mayer layups jump-started a 7-0 Illini run to put the visitors ahead by four less than five minutes into the contest.
With the two sides trading baskets for a majority of the frame, Illinois led by as many as seven but ultimately led by three, 35-32, at halftime.
Mayer led all scorers with 10 points at the break, including two of the Illini's three 3-pointers, while he also made a team-high two blocks in his 17 minutes of first-half action. Dainja and Jayden Epps both shot at least 50% and registered six points in the opening frame.
The Illini started to find their rhythm early in the second half, using a 12-0 scoring run to take a double-digit lead less than five minutes into the frame. Four different players registered points during that stretch, while a high-intensity defense set the Illini up for success on the other end.
A 13-3 run, which included seven points from Mayer, helped Illinois extend its lead to 20 points with under eight minutes to play.
With their lead cut to 19 points, the Illini used a 6-0 lead over 67 seconds to push their advantage to a game-high 25 points with just over four minutes to play.
Illinois returns to action on Thursday night at State Farm Center against Indiana (11-6, 2-4), with tipoff set for 7 p.m. CT.
HIGHLIGHTS
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM NOTES
- Illinois has its second four-game winning streak of the season, the first since winning the first four games of the campaign.
- Illinois has won five straight over Minnesota, its longest streak against the Gophers since a school-record 20 consecutive wins from March 4, 1999, through March 15, 2008.
- Illinois has won three-straight in the Williams Arena, its longest winning streak in Minneapolis since taking eight straight from Feb. 17, 2000, through Feb. 12, 2008.
- The Illini have recorded a four-game winning streak in conference play in five-straight seasons.
- Ten different Illini scored in the contest, including four in double figures.
- The Illini have blocked at least six shots in six-straight games.
- Illinois scored 54 points in the paint, its highest mark of the season.
- First time the Illini scored 50 points or more in the paint this season.
- It's the sixth time this season the Illini have scored 40 points or more in the paint in a game this season.
- The Illini out-rebounded the Gophers 50-29, with a 36-21 advantage on the defensive end.
- Second-highest tally this season, first time securing 50 rebounds or more since the season opener.
- The +21 rebounding margin is the second-highest mark of the season.
- Illinois grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and scored 14 second-chance points.
- Three players grabbed at least eight boards and six grabbed at least four rebounds.
- Illinois assisted on 17 of its 32 field goals.
- They have seven-straight games with double-digit assist totals.
- The Illini held the Gophers to 8-for-29 shooting (27.6%) in the second half, outscoring the hosts 43-28 in the closing half.
- The Illinois bench out-scored its Minnesota counterparts 27-13.
PLAYER NOTES
- Fifth year Matthew Mayer scored 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting, including going 3-for-6 behind the arc. Mayer also secured 10 rebounds and added two blocks.
- Recorded his first double-double of the season.
- Scored 10 of his 19 points in the first half to lead all scorers.
- Has double-digit scoring efforts in five-straight games, his longest such streak this season. Has scored at least 17 points in three of his last five games.
- Has made at least two 3-pointers in three-straight games and three field goals from deep in two-straight.
- Has made at least one 3-pointer in 10-straight contests.
- Has three games in his last five with at least six rebounds.
- Has six-straight games with at least two blocks.
- Redshirt sophomore Dain Dainja scored 11 points, going 5-for-6 from the floor and added four rebounds.
- Has scored in double figures in back-to-back games.
- Freshman Sencire Harris scored seven points and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds.
- Freshman Ty Rodgers scored a career-high eight points and secured eight rebounds off of the bench.
- Has at least seven rebounds in two of his last three games.
- Senior Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 11 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists.
- Freshman Jayden Epps scored 10 points off of the bench on 5-for-9 shooting.
- Junior Brandon Lieb matched his career high with four points scored. Lieb also tallied two rebounds in nine first-half minutes.
- Freshman Paxton Warden scored the first points of his career with a layup in the second half.
