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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. --Â Illinois used a balanced scoring effort from its starting five to return to the win column, beating Minnesota, 78-69, at State Farm Center on Monday night.
All five Illini starters finished in double figures, giving Illinois the season sweep over the Golden Gophers.
Matthew Mayer registered a team-high 22 points in the win, his third consecutive double-digit scoring outing. Mayer knocked down both of his 3-pointers in the second half, while he also recorded seven rebounds, two assists, and a team-high two steals.
RJ Melendez notched the first double-double of his career with 10 points and 11 rebounds in his second straight start. Melendez also tallied his 10th block of the season with an emphatic swat in the first half.
Jayden Epps hit four 3-pointers, his highest mark in conference play this season, en route to a 17-point night. Epps also made one steal in the victory.
Coleman Hawkins registered 16 points and made three 3-pointers, his most since Jan. 7. Hawkins also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out three assists.
Dain Dainja caused problems in the paint all night, recording 12 points and four rebounds.Â
The Illini hit 10 3-pointers in the win, matching the team's highest mark in conference play this season.
After Mayer scored the Illini's first four points of the night, Illinois used an 8-0 run to take an early 10-point lead. All five starters registered points during this stretch, with the Illini taking an 18-8 lead less than seven minutes into the contest.
The Golden Gophers cut their deficit to single digits, but the Illini used another big run to retake their double-digit advantage. A 7-0 Illinois run, capped off with a Melendez dunk, put the hosts ahead by 12 points, the team's largest lead of the opening half.
Illinois carried a 35-29 advantage into halftime, led by a team-high 11 points from Hawkins. The Illini grabbed seven offensive rebounds and tallied seven second-chance points during the first 20 minutes of action.
Epps recorded the Illini's first eight points of the second half, using a personal 8-0 run that included two 3-pointers to push the Illinois lead to 14 points just over two minutes into the frame.
The Illini started heating up from three later in the half, with Hawkins, Mayer, and Epps all getting their triples to fall as the hosts used runs of 10-2 and 7-2 to take a 15-point advantage with under eight minutes to play.
After Minnesota cut its deficit to single digits with under five minutes to play, Melendez knocked down a contested three with the shot clock winding down to put Illinois back in front by double digits less than 30 seconds later.
The Melendez 3-pointer started a 10-3 Illini run, a stretch that featured dunks from Mayer, Melendez, and Hawkins. Illinois retook its game-high 16-point lead following the two-minute stretch with just over two minutes to play.
Illinois (18-9, 9-7) returns to State Farm Center for its penultimate home game on Thursday night, taking on in-state foe No. 21 Northwestern (20-7, 11-5) at 8 p.m. CT.
HIGHLIGHTS
PRESS CONFERENCE
QUOTES
Brad Underwood
Opening statement:
"Glad to be going home with a win. I thought Minnesota played great. I think they had two consecutive games shooting over 50%. Minnesota is a really talented offensive team.
"I thought we got off to a great start. If you use the term, 'trap game,' this was probably one. I was concerned about our energy, and I thought we came out really, really good. I thought we came out with a real focus. We had a little two or three-minute lull that I didn't like. I think we took five tough ones in a row, but we're going home with a win and on to the next.
"I'm really, really excited for RJ. I told him before the game to rebound, and he did that. It's pretty cool when you coach basketball at a place and 15,000 have seen a young man struggle, and when that three went in and the eruption happened, it was pretty cool. That's people dialed into our program and the struggles of a young guy, but I'm gonna tell you: It's all about a hug. It's all about the hug. We can believe in him as coaches and tell him we believe in him, and that doesn't end the struggle. That play Matt Mayer made at the end of the game at Indiana, I stood up and screamed, 'Overtime,' and when he missed it, Matt Mayer gave that kid a hug. That's belief. That's when you know your teammates believe, so I'm really happy for that. I made sure I mentioned that to our team tonight after the game.
"It's nice to see Jayden Epps get going again from three. We know he's a good shooter. He makes them all the time."
RJ Melendez
On his double-double, the first of his career:
"It feels really great actually, just knowing that it was my first career double-double. These guys have had my back every single day, trusted in me, and it just gives me the confidence to keep going out and playing hard and having their back on the defensive side. It's just all toughness, and thanks to them and thanks to God for just being with me through this process. It's been a little hard, but just having my teammates and coaches trusting me has just been big."
On having the coaches' trust and confidence:
"I know that shots aren't falling, but I'm gonna have his back on the defensive side. I'm grabbing rebounds and trying to help the team as much as possible. Then, it's just letting the offense flow by itself."
Matthew Mayer
On his relationship with Melendez and his reaction to Melendez's performance:
"It was great. I knew he was locked in when he went up and snagged a rebound over me. I was like, 'OK, he's locked in today.' It's been a long time coming, so I told him, 'Just keep focusing on the little things, like rebounding. Shots will fall.' When he's rebounding like that, he's gonna get easy ones, and it's gonna make everything a lot easier for us."
On teammates viewing him as a leader:
"Yeah, it's great. I love my guys, man. I don't look at myself that way, necessarily. I'm just on the team, and I'm trying to win. I just love my guys; that's really it. I'm not a self-proclaimed leader, but it means a lot that my guys care about me, too."
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM NOTES
- Illinois improves to 13-2 at State Farm Center this season.
- They have won at least 13 games at home in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2010-12.
- The Illini have won six-straight against the Golden Gophers, their longest such streak since winning 20-straight from March 4, 1999, to March 15, 2008.
- Illinois blocked two shots in today's game and is now just seven blocks away from breaking the program record of 162.
- Illinois' 53 Big Ten wins since 2020 are the most in the conference over the last four seasons.
- Illinois had five players score in double-figure figures.
- The Illini have had at least three players score in double-figures in six-straight games.
- The Illini made 10 3-pointers in a game for the first time since Jan. 7 at Wisconsin.
- Illinois out-rebounded Minnesota 37-33, with a 27-26 edge on the defensive glass and a 10-7 advantage on o-boards.
- Scored 13 second-chance points.
- The Illini led the contest in bench scoring, 1-0.
PLAYER NOTES
- Matthew Mayer scored a team-high 22 points, going 7-for-14 from the floor, and added seven rebounds.
- Has scored at least 22 points in back-to-back games.
- First time this season with back-to-back 20-point games.
- Made at least two 3-pointers for the third-straight game.
- Has at least seven rebounds in four-straight games.
- Jayden Epps scored 17 points, going 6-for-11 from the floor, including 4-for-3 from behind the arc.
- Scored the team's first eight points in the second half, bookending a pair of 3-pointers with a layup.
- Three-straight double-digit scoring performances.
- Has poured in double-digit point totals in all but five Big Ten games.
- Made at least four 3-pointers for the second time this season.
- His for makes from deep were his most in a Big Ten game.
- Coleman Hawkins scored 16 points while adding seven rebounds and three assists.
- Had a team-high 11 points in the first half, going 4-for-8 from the floor and 2-for-5 from behind the arc.
- Has made at least two 3-pointers in two of his last three games.
- Has double-digit scoring efforts in three of his last four games.
- Has secured seven rebounds in two-straight games.
- RJ Melendez recorded his first-career double-double, scoring 10 points and adding 11 boards.
- Set a career-high with 11 rebounds.
- First game scoring in double-figures since Jan. 19 vs. Indiana.
- Dain Dainja scored 12 points and secured four boards.
