No. 13 Illini Open Big Ten Play With Impressive 92-65 Blowout Win Over Minnesota

Illinois opened Big Ten Conference play with a domination of nearly everything in a runaway 92-65 victory over Minnesota.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois opened Big Ten Conference play with a domination of nearly everything in a runaway victory over Minnesota.

In a 92-65 victory over the previous undefeated Gophers, Illinois handled Minnesota in points in the paint (48-14) and fast-break points (23-4) as they the No. 13 Illini looked to get back on track following a disappointing Braggin’ Rights game loss last weekend.

With the two strengths of post play and transition offense easily taken care of by the Illini, all that was left was surviving an early barrage of three-point shots by Minnesota’s pick-and-roll action. After knocking down its first three looks from beyond the three-point arc in the first half, Minnesota (6-1, 0-1 in Big Ten) saw shooting went through a desperate cold spell that led to the Illini’s post offense and transition game to build a comfortable lead.

The plan for Illinois (5-2, 1-0 in Big Ten) seemed simple enough early and often Tuesday night as they attempted to feed its 7-foot, 290-pound center as much as possible. Kofi Cockburn would end the evening with his 16th career double-double with 33 points and 13 rebounds as the 2020 Big Ten Freshman of the Year selection did a lot of his damage less than five feet from the rim (12 of 15 from the field and 9 of 15 from the foul line).

When Illinois wasn’t throwing the ball into the post and letting Cockburn dominate, the Illini got a balanced scoring effort from All-America selection Ayo Dosunmu, Trent Frazier, Andre Curbelo and Adam Miller. The quartet of perimeter threats combined for 43 points and seven conversions from three-point range. In his first career Big Ten game, Curbelo had a very active night that saw the Puerto Rico native flirt with a triple-double and end with nine points, nine assists and six rebounds in just 23 minutes.

Minnesota was led by All-Big Ten guard Marcus Carr’s 16 points but nothing came easy as the Gophers shot just 7 of 28 from beyond the three-point arc and forced Minnesota’s NBA-caliber perimeter threat into a 3 for 13 shooting night.

The 27-point victory over Minnesota is the biggest for Illinois since a 86-50 victory in Champaign over the Gophers on Feb. 11, 1988. The Illini have won four of its last five meetings with Minnesota inside State Farm Center and two of those margin have been over 25 points. 

Minnesota built an impressive 6-0 record before the start of league play against a set of opponents that didn’t top No. 97 in the latest power rankings by Ken Pomeroy and never left Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

The Illini will have a five-day break before being scheduled to embark on a stretch of three games in a six-day window that starts with road games at Rutgers (Sunday, noon) and Penn State (Dec. 23, 5:30 p.m.).