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Illinois Basketball: Illini MVP of the game against Minnesota

By Jalen Wilson

CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 30: Illinois Fighting Illini guard Andres Feliz (10) gets into a defensive position during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 30, 2020, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 30: Illinois Fighting Illini guard Andres Feliz (10) gets into a defensive position during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 30, 2020, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Illinois basketball team beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers 59-51 on Thursday night

Illinois narrowly pulled out what was a close game for pretty much the entire night. They struggled in the first half, shooting under 30-percent from the field. The second half was much better, though. The Illini got going on offense in the second half and at one time extended the lead to double-digits.

Minnesota would go on a run to cut the lead to three points, but Illinois had good defensive execution late in the game to come away with the victory. Illinois had some good performances on Thursday night from multiple players, so who gets the MVP?

The MVP for the Illini against Minnesota has to be Andres Feliz. He played great coming off the bench for the Orange and Blue.

Illinois needed somebody to step up in the scoring department, and Feliz did just that. He had 17 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists while shooting 6-of-11 from the field. Feliz also played shutdown defense, which comes as no surprise as he is usually consistent on the defensive side of the court.

The Illini also had some other players that could’ve won MVP for this game. Ayo Dosunmu had 13 points and Kofi Cockburn had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

What made Feliz’s performance so good is that he did all of this while coming off the bench. Another reason Feliz was big in this game is that Alan Griffin was still suspended. Illinois doesn’t have much depth, so Feliz stepping up means a lot to this team.

Next. 3 observations from the Illini win over Minnesota. dark

Illinois is now 16-5 overall and 8-2 in Big Ten play. They have a tough five-game stretch ahead of them which consists of five ranked opponents. Next up is at No. 18 Iowa on Sunday.

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