Williams Arena hosted two upset wins for the Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball team this season, but No. 23 Illinois refused to become the third, winning 95-74 on Saturday.

Despite 22-plus point performances from senior guards Lu’Cye Patterson and Femi Odukale, scoring droughts continue to be a sore spot for the Gophers.  

Prior to playing the Gophers, Illinois lost five of their previous eight games. 

Fighting Illini forward Will Riley scored 27 points and a near triple-double, adding nine rebounds and seven assists. 

Minnesota’s offense started the game hot with Dawson Garcia scoring a game-opening 3-point shot, but Illinois held the Gophers’ leading scoring to only 12 points all game. 

Illinois gained their first lead with a second chance tip-in from their forward Jake Davis, making the score 18-16. 

The Fighting Illini outscored Minnesota in the paint 28-12 and outrebounded Minnesota 22-11, cementing a 46-35 Illinois lead going into halftime. 

The second half of action began with Minnesota forward Parker Fox fouling Illinois forward Morez Johnson Jr., who extended the Fighting Illini lead to 13. 

Fox’s dunk off an assist from Odukale a few minutes later gave momentum to the Gophers offense, but Illinois refused to let their lead dwindle by scoring 49 points in the second half. 

Davis made a 3-point shot with seven minutes left in the game, resulting in a noticeable amount of Gopher fans leaving the Barn early. 

After the game, Patterson summed up the game quite bluntly. 

“It was just ugly,” Patterson said. “That’s just not the way we play… We just gotta do some soul searching.” 

Defensive Trends 

Most of Minnesota’s identity this season includes a brand of defense-first, hard-nosed basketball. In their upset victory against Oregon, Minnesota’s defense played a key role in maintaining significant leads throughout the game. 

“We’re not the high-scoring team. We’re going to win ugly,” Patterson said. 

This ugly style of play includes securing steals to turn the tide of close games. Odukale leads the team in steals with 33 this season. 

When he is not scoring on the other end of the court, Garcia’s 177-season defensive rebounds have proven to be crucial for the Gophers. 

Minnesota’s five blocks per game rank second in the Big Ten. Fox is leading the Gophers with 29 on the season, including two in the Gophers’ last win at Penn State. 

By deciding to go with a smaller starting lineup against Illinois, Minnesota lost their defense-first identity. If the Gophers want to keep their tournament hopes alive, a strong defense must reemerge. 

Offensive Trends 

Despite Garcia being ranked 20 in the nation with 19.8 points per game, the team’s overall point production ranks last in the Big Ten, averaging 69 points per game. 

Since becoming the Gophers head coach in 2021, Ben Johnson’s teams have consistently struggled to land free throws. Shooting 65.2% from the free-throw line this year, Minnesota ranks 340th out of the 355 teams in Division I basketball.

Minnesota’s ability to create offense through assists is one of the bright spots of the season so far. The team’s 15.8 assists per game shows that the team can be cohesive, but an emphasis on passing opens up the opportunity for turnovers. 

Turnover troubles, especially late in the game, have cost the Gophers close losses, like their 71-68 loss to Washington. Minnesota decreasing their 10.4 turnovers per game statistic could be a small victory for the team.

What Next 

Currently, Minnesota is ranked No. 16 in the Big Ten, a cause for concern considering this year’s Big Ten tournament will only field the top 15 Big Ten teams. 

“We want to attack these last eight games, finish on a strong note and really take advantage of what we’ve got coming up here,” Johnson said. 

The Gophers start their West Coast Big Ten slate on Feb. 15 against the University of Southern California Trojans at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.