Illinois Basketball: 4 big statistics from the Illini victory over Minnesota

4. +72

The Brad Underwood era of Illinois basketball made a turn for the better last season. The first two seasons of his regime weren’t so good, but last year would have been an NCAA tournament berth, and we might be the No. 1 seed in the postseason this year.

Even with a couple of dud seasons under Underwood, Illinois has seemed to have Minnesota’s number most of the time. The matchup has become even more lopsided the last couple of seasons.

Underwood now has a scoring margin of +72 against Minnesota.

In the four seasons Underwood has been with Illinois, he has a 4-2 record and, as previously mentioned, a +72 scoring margin. He actually dropped two of his first three matchups with the Gophers, but in the middle game, Illinois beat Minnesota by 27 points.

Illinois now has beaten Minnesota by at least 27 points in three out of the six games in the Underwood era. That is a number that I am not sure many coaches could ever say they have achieved. When Illinois wins against Minnesota, it is a work of art and a complete demolition of the Gophers.

Hopefully, the Illini can take this great play and continue winning games. If they can finish the season the way they played against Minnesota, then there is no stopping this team.