Illinois Basketball: Illini snap losing skid with sweep against Minnesota

The Illinois basketball team finds itself in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Big Ten after a sweep of Minnesota on Monday night.

After back-to-back road losses against Penn State and Indiana, the Illini returned to the State Farm Center on Monday night with one thing on its mind — vengeance.

In a crowded Big Ten regular season title race, Illinois finds themselves sitting in a four-way tie for fourth place in the conference. The win improved their overall mark to 18-9 and 10-7 in the conference, while the Golden Gophers fell to 7-17 and 1-14 in league play.

The game saw RJ Melendez come alive for 10 points and 11 rebounds, along with another star-studded performance from Matthew Mayer, who finished with 22 points and shot 7-of-14 from the field.

While the Golden Gophers only have one Big Ten win to their name, a last-second January triumph against Ohio State, they gave Illinois all it could handle during the beginning portion of the contest.

Though the Illini never trailed, Minnesota remained competitive throughout the opening half, as they kept it close behind an eventual 31-point performance from Jamison Battle. Even though Battle’s numbers were impressive, the Illini wouldn’t let their foot off the gas pedal.

Entering halftime, Illinois led 43-40, which was eerily similar to the game in Bloomington and nowhere close to the threshold in State College. Despite the Illini having the lead, they needed to separate themselves to secure a critical home victory, a victory that could go a long way in determining Big Ten Tournament seeding.

An 11-0 scoring run early in the second half put the game out of reach, as Minnesota failed to come within striking distance of its counterparts in the closing minutes. Jayden Epps had another huge performance, adding 17 points, including finishing 4-of-6 from three-point range, showing all the signs of what he could become.

In what has been a struggle throughout the entire season thus far, the Illini defense tightened up in a big way. The unit forced eight turnovers and secured two blocks, while the Illini kept several possessions alive, finishing with 10 offensive boards in the 78-69 victory over Minnesota.

Brad Underwood was elated with the reception that Melendez received from the audience, given the fact that he was out for nearly two weeks due to a “violation of team rules.”

"“I was really excited for RJ. …It’s pretty cool when you coach basketball at a place, and 15,000 have seen a young man struggle,” Underwood said after the win. “When that three went in and that eruption, that’s pretty cool, man.”"

Illinois basketball looks for a chance at revenge.

Over a month ago, Illinois was beaten by Northwestern in Evanston. Now, it’s the Illini’s turn for revenge, as they will welcome the Wildcats to Champaign on Thursday night in what will be their second-to-last home game.

Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network, as the Illini will look to put a wrench in their in-state rivals’ conference title hopes.