Game 28 preview | Minnesota at No. 13 Illinois; 8 p.m., Wednesday
Feb. 28—Beat writer Scott Richey breaks down the matchup between the Illini and Gophers:
Lineups
No. 12 Illinois (20-7, 11-5 Big Ten)
Starters
G/F Marcus Domask Gr. 6-6 15.3 Waupun, Wis.
G Terrence Shannon Jr. Sr. 6-6 21.6 Chicago
G/F Ty Rodgers So. 6-6 6.6 Saginaw, Mich.
F Quincy Guerrier Gr. 6-8 10.3 Montreal
F Coleman Hawkins Sr. 6-10 13.0 Sacramento, Calif.
FYI: Hawkins became the 53rd player in the last 15 seasons to have a game with 30 points, five assists and five steals — totals he hit in Saturday's win against Iowa. D.J. Cooper (Ohio), Jeremiah Martin (St. Bonaventure) and Ben Simmons (LSU) were the high scorers of that group, with all three scoring 43 points.
Off the bench
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Justin Harmon Gr. 6-4 7.0 Chicago
F/C Dain Dainja R-Jr. 6-9 5.3 Brooklyn Park, Minn.
G Luke Goode Jr. 6-7 6.6 Fort Wayne, Ind.
Minnesota (17-10, 8-8 Big Ten)
Starters
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Elijah Hawkins Jr. 5-11 7.3 Washington, D.C.
G Mike Mitchell Jr. Jr. 6-2 10.3 San Jose, Calif.
G Cam Christie Fr. 6-6 11.2 Arlington Heights
F Dawson Garcia Jr. 6-11 17.3 Savage, Minn.
F Pharrel Payne So. 6-9 9.8 Cottage Grove, Minn.
FYI: Hawkins ranks fourth nationally and leads the Big Ten at 7.3 assists per game — barely edging out Purdue guard Braden Smith's 7.2 assists. It's a career-high for Hawkins, a Howard transfer, after he averaged 5.8 assists in two seasons with the Bison.
Off the bench
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
F Parker Fox R-Sr. 6-8 4.3 Mahtomedi, Minn.
G Braeden Carrington So. 6-4 5.2 Brooklyn Park, Minn.
F Joshua Ola-Joseph So. 6-7 8.3 Brooklyn Park, Minn.
Details
Site: State Farm Center (15,544); Champaign.
Radio: Brian Barnhart (play-by-play) and former Illini Deon Thomas (analysis) will have the call on the Illini Sports Network on WDWS 1400-AM, WDWS 93.9-FM, WHMS 97.5-FM, WPXN 104.9-FM, WDAN-1490-AM and WDNL 102.1-FM.
TV: Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) former Illini Stephen Bardo (analysis) and Andy Katz (sideline reports) will have the call on BTN.
Series: Illinois leads 129-68.
Last meeting: Illinois won 78-69 on Feb. 20, 2023, in Champaign.
FYI: Last season's win at State Farm Center was Illinois' sixth straight in the series. The Illini have six streaks of that length against Minnesota since the teams first met in 1906, including 20 straight wins from 1999-2008. The Gophers' longest winning streak against Illinois came with nine straight wins from 1971-76. It was a streak that extended two more years and ran to 13 consecutive wins before Minnesota had to forfeit its two wins from the 1976-77 season.
Beat writer Scott Richey's storylines
Postseason honors a question mark for Shannon
Illinois guard Terrence Shannon Jr. was one of 40 players named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy watch list on Tuesday by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. It was a departure from other national player of the year honors, with Shannon not appearing on the watch lists for the Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy. The 6-foot-6 Illini guard is the No. 9 scorer in the country, averaging 21.6 points on 47/34/79 shooting to go with 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Shannon is also still facing a rape charge in Lawrence, Kan. "Go find a perimeter player that's playing any better than him," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. "He's obviously had a tough situation, and it's a serious one. I can't speak for the other awards, but I'm very, very happy for him. I think he's very deserving of all of those. I know he is absolutely one of the best players in America."
How deep will the rotation run against Gophers?
Illinois' rotation was deeper in Saturday's win against Iowa than it had been at essentially any point this season. Part of it was Underwood making a statement. The Illini coach pulled his starters early in the second half to show his displeasure in their performance. But was that just a rotation change very much about the moment or something that could have life in the final weeks of the regular season and into tournament play? Could there be more minutes for freshmen Nico Moretti or Amani Hansberry? "We haven't had that luxury because we haven't truly been healthy," Underwood said. Both Moretti (foot) and Hansberry (back) missed multiple games this season. "We're trying to fight through just getting that back and seeing what that looks like right now. "
Offensive improvement driving Gophers' success
Ben Johnson's run as Minnesota coach appeared to have reached a tipping point after just two seasons. The Gophers regressed in year two, going 9-22 overall and winning just two Big Ten games. The bounce back this season to 17 wins and a spot in the top half of the Big Ten has been fueled by significant offensive improvement, moving from outside the top 200 in adjusted offensive efficiency last seasonto top-75 status this season. "They're going to run great actions," Underwood said. "They're going to run a lot of actions. Everything is assisted. (Elijah) Hawkins as a point guard is just a little guy that lives in the paint and can shoot it. You've got to try to fight to keep them to one shot, and you can't give (Cam) Christie and (Mike) Mitchell and those guys threes. "
The News-Gazette's pick
No. 13 Illinois 88, Minnesota 77
Wednesday's game marks the last non-Quad I matchup of the regular season for Illinois with Wisconsin, Purdue and Iowa looming in the next week-and-a-half. Beating the Gophers, though, is just as important. Maybe even more so from a résumé perspective in the run up to the NCAA tournament. The Illini wouldn't be dinged for a Quad I loss to the Badgers, Boilermakers or Hawkeyes. Losing a Quad III game at home to Minnesota is a different story. Paired with the loss at Penn State, it would be enough to complete Illinois' drop out of a top-four seed. (N-G prediction record: 22-4)
