Illinois Basketball: Illini take another step in the right direction

The Illinois basketball team is officially on a roll, as it dominated Minnesota 78-60 for the third-straight win in the all-time series.

Over the last two weeks, the Illini have played the way they are capable of playing and are very much alive in the Big Ten regular season title race.

The Orange and Blue have won four in a row and five of their past six games dating back to December, with four of the wins coming inside the conference.

A 78-60 win against the Golden Gophers Monday night was another step in the right direction for the defending Big Ten champs, as they looked dead in the water to start the 2023 calendar year.

Another competitive first half from both sides proved to make for some excitement. The Illini had multiple leads of seven points and saw Jayden Epps score 10 points off the bench, along with in-game action from Brandon Lieb who added four of his own. The Deerfield, Illinois, native normally comes into games when it’s out of reach, but due to some foul trouble, his services were needed.

What defined the game, however, was the play of the Illini’s transfers. Once again, the three superstars — Matthew Mayer, Terrence Shannon Jr., and Dain Dainja — played big when it mattered.

The Golden Gophers took a slim 36-35 lead at the 18:51 mark of regulation, but after that, the rest of the contest belonged to Illinois.

Mayer led all scorers with 19 points, including finishing 8-of-14 from the field and 50% from three-point range. Shannon Jr. and Dainja combined for 22 points, as Minnesota went on several scoring droughts and were unable to find open shots as they came. Dawson Garcia finished with 17 points, a lone bright spot on a team still learning how to win.

Brad Underwood has been ecstatic about the recent play of Mayer, who was part of the Baylor team that won a national title in 2021.

"He’s just a great guy,” Underwood said after the win. “He’s fun to talk to. I love messing with him because he’s such a hard ass. I’m always poking fun at him, making little jokes and he trusts me on the court. It’s really easy to have a good relationship with him.”"

The Illinois basketball team will look to protect home court over the next two weeks.

Easy indeed, as the Illini have now won three straight against the Golden Gophers and will now look ahead to what is arguably the most critical stretch of the Big Ten schedule.

The victory moved Illinois into a logjam at the top of the conference, as it joined Iowa and Michigan State at 4-3 and tied for fourth place. The Illini will look ahead to home matchups with Indiana and Ohio State, as both look to get back on track after promising starts earlier in the season.

The Hoosiers are coming off of a dominant upset win against the Wisconsin Badgers, 63-45, as they’ll look for back-to-back victories for the first time since mid-December.

Thursday night should be one to remember, as the two teams last met in Champaign in March 2020 with the Illini coming out on top.