The Fighting Illini were defeated by the #14 Ohio State Buckeyes in their regular season finale on March 10th. Brandon Paul led the team with 21 points. Myke Henry led the team with six rebounds off the bench. DeShaun Thomas led the Buckeyes with 19 points and Aaron Craft led the them with six assists.

This game will be the third meeting between Illinois and Minnesota this season. They are tied at 1-1 in their previous two meetings. In the first meeting, the #8 Golden Gophers beat the #12 Fighting Illini, 84-67, at Assembly Hall. Illinois would beat #18 Minnesota, 57-53, in the second meeting. Paul has scored a combined 31 points against the Golden Gophers this season.

Minnesota comes into Thursday’s match-up with an overall record of 20-11 and a Big Ten record of 8-10. They started their conference schedule in the AP Top 25. However, they are 2-4 in their last six games.

Mar 2, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Andre Hollins (1) reacts after making a three point shot in the second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Williams Arena. The Gophers won 73-44. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

In both meetings against Illinois, Minnesota received most of their points via their starters. They only had two players reach double-figures in the last meeting with Illinois.

The players that reached double-figures were sophomore Andre Hollins (16 points) and senior Trevor Mbakwe (13 points).

One player that showed up for the Illini off the bench in a huge way during the second meeting was Tyler Griffey. Griffey played 30 minutes in which he went 4-of-9 from the field (all four baskets for three-pointers). He finished the game with 16 points off the bench.

This will be 182nd meeting between the Fighting Illini and the Golden Gophers. Illinois leads the overall series, 117-64.

Thursday’s game will be all about the bench for the Illinois Fighting Illini.

One of the reasons the Illini were able to beat Minnesota in their last meeting was because of their bench play. Griffey showed up and provided for the team. In Illinois’ last two games, the bench play has been lacking.

Girffey, Henry, and Bertrand will need to be one their game against the Golden Gophers. If they cannot support the starters, the Fighting Illini could be bounced in the first round of the Big Ten conference tournament.

Would that be bad for the team’s tournament chances? Yes, but not deadly. ESPN’s bracketologist Joe Lunardi has Illinois as an 8th-seed in the East region. That is where they will most likely be placed come Selection Sunday unless they lose to Minnesota on Thursday.

If they lose on Thursday, they will definitely be below an 8th-seed.

In the end, the Illinois Fighting Illini will be an 8th-seed in this year’s tournament. They should not have a problem against the Golden Gophers, but the game will be close.

Illinois will most likely be “one and done” in the conference tournament. They will beat Minnesota, but we will see how they will handle Indiana for the second time.

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The Fighting Illini pulled off the biggest upset in their last game against #1 Indiana. They won over the Hoosiers, 74-72, after Tyler Griffey was able to break free from his defender and put in the game-winning hoop.

This game will be the second meeting between Illinois and Minnesota. In their first meeting, the Golden Gophers defeated the Illini, 84-67. D.J. Richardson and Tracy Abrams both finished with 14 points each for Illinois. Minnesota’s Joe Coleman led the team with a career-high 29 points.

The Golden Gophers come into Sunday’s game with an overall record of 17-6 and a Big Ten record of 5-5. They started their Big Ten conference schedule with three straight wins, but have struggled since. They have only won two of their last seven games. They lost to #12 Michigan State, 61-50, in their last game.

Feb. 6, 2013; East Lansing, MI, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Trevor Mbakwe (32) looks to pass the ball against the Michigan State Spartans during 2nd half at Jack Breslin Students Events Center. MSU won 61-50. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota did not receive a single bench point in their last meeting against Illinois. They had five players record a point and three of them scored double-figures.

The players that reached double-figures were sophomore Joe Coleman (29 points), sophomore Andre Hollins (22 points), and senior Trevor Mbakwe (19 points).

Even though Coleman scored a career-high 29 points, the star of the game was Andre Hollins.

In 31 minutes, he scored 22 points, hauled in eight rebounds, and dished out six assists. The eight rebounds that Hollins recorded against Illinois remains to be his season-high.

A big problem the Illini had in that last meeting was foul trouble. They had two players record four fouls and one player foul out.

The Illini player to foul out of the game was Tracy Abrams. He only played 24 minutes and recorded 14 points and four rebounds. Joseph Bertrand and Nnanna Egwu were the two Illinois players with four fouls each. Although, Egwu still helped out Illinois with nine rebounds and three blocks.

This will be 181st meeting between the Fighting Illini and the Golden Gophers. Illinois leads the overall series, 116-64.

The biggest key for the Illini will be limiting the production of the Minnesota starters.

If Minnesota is going to beat you, it will be with their starters. It was not a fluke that all of Minnesota’s points last time came from their starters. In their last game, they lost to Michigan State because the starters were limited. Minnesota’s leading scorer was Hollins with 11 points and their bench only scored four points.

It is clear that the offense for Minnesota runs through the starters excusively. If Illinois can limit the starters, their chances of winning will increase tenfold.

A key match-up to watch in Sunday’s game will be Ewgu v.s Mbakwe. Trevor Mbakwe is a very physical player and this could either help or hurt the Illini.

Yes, Mbakwe will get his rebounds, but will he get his points? In the last meeting with Illinois, he played 35 minutes and scored 19 points. In the loss to the Spartans, he got into foul trouble. Because of this, he only played 27 minutes and scored nine points.

The Fighting Illini will need to use Mbakwe’s physicality against him in this game and it all starts with Egwu. Egwu will need to be smart and not get into foul trouble himself. He has fouled out the last three games.

It will also be interesting to see if Illinois plays with more confidence after their victory over #1 Indiana.

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The Fighting Illini are looking to defeat their second straight 8th ranked Big Ten team after they defeated the #8 Ohio State Buckeyes last Saturday.

The Golden Gophers come into this game riding a ten game win streak. They are 14-1 overall and are 2-0 in the Big Ten. Their only loss this season was to the #5 Duke Blue Devils in the Battle for Atlantis tournament.

The main thing head coach John Groce talked about during Tuesday’s press conference was the physicality of the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Dec 31, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Austin Hollins (20) dunks during the second half against the Michigan State Spartans at Williams Arena. Minnesota defeated Michigan State 76-63. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota is very good on defense. They are ranked #1 in the Big Ten for steals (9.9 per game) and blocks (6.7 per game).

The Golden Gophers have five players averaging over one steal per contest and three players averaging over one block per contest.

Their best defensive players are senior forward Trevor Mbakwe and junior guard Austin Hollins.

Mbakwe leads the team with 1.5 blocks per game and Hollins leads the team with 2.1 steals per game.

Minnesota also rebounds the ball very well, especially on the offensive glass.

The Golden Gophers are #1 in the entire nation with 16.8 offensive rebounds per game. They have hauled in 252 offensive rebounds so far this season.

Their best two rebounders are Trevor Mbakwe and senior forward Rodney Williams. Mbakwe leads the team with 7.7 rebounds per game and Williams is second with 6.0 rebounds per game.

The Golden Gophers also have three players averaging double-digit points so far this season. These players are sophomore guard Andre Hollins (13.1), Rodney Williams (12.9), and Austin Hollins (11.1). Although, Minnesota is only 5th in the conference with 75.5 points per game as a team.

This will be 180th meeting between the Fighting Illini and the Golden Gophers. Illinois leads the series 116-63. In their last meeting, the Golden Gophers defeated the Illini, 77-72, in overtime.

If head coach John Groce can pick up the victory against Minnesota, he will hit the century mark in wins over his career. 100-career wins would be a nice accomplishment for the first year coach at Illinois (5th year overall).

After struggling offensively against Purdue, the Illini come into their game against #8 Minnesota hitting on all cylinders. In the game against Ohio State on Saturday, they had four players reach double-digit points.

The leader was no other than senior guard Brandon Paul. Paul has scored double-digits in every single game this season. However, this game will not come down to Illinois’ offense.

The Illini will need to play well defensively in order to beat the Golden Gophers. They will need to force turnovers and try to not send Minnesota to the foul line often. Also, they will need to control the defensive glass because of Minnesota’s dominance in offensive rebounds.

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