University of Minnesota Athletics
Game Preview: Minnesota vs. Illinois
2/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| Minnesota (17-9, 6-7) vs. Illinois (14-12, 3-10) | |
| Date / Time | Wednesday, February 19 | 8 p.m. |
| Location | Williams Arena - Directions |
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com |
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels |
| TV | BTN |
| Radio | 1500 ESPN | Gopher Radio Network |
| Free Audio | Click Here |
| Live Blog | Game Day Live |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Illinois |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Purdue |
| Social Media | @GopherBBall | Facebook |
Feb. 18, 2014
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Time: 8 p.m. CT
Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
Arena: Williams Arena (14,625)
TV: BTN - Steve Physioc (Play-by-Play); Shon Morris (Analyst)
Radio: Learfield/1500 ESPN Twin Cities - Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 91/XM 91
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: 173rd meeting 62-110)
Series (Home): 85th meeting (42-42)
Current Streak: L-2
Richard Pitino vs. Illinois: 0-0
Minnesota vs. Big Ten: 723-768
Richard Pitino vs. Big Ten: 6-7
GAME DAY TID-BITS
• Minnesota squares off against Illinois for the first and only time this season on Wednesday night at the Barn.
• The Gophers are 6-7 in Big Ten action, with a 4-2 mark at home in conference play.
• Minnesota stopped a five-game winless streak at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Prior to Sunday, the Gophers' last win in Evanston came on Feb. 6, 2008, a 92-72 win over the Wildcats.
• The Gophers went 1-2 against the Illini last season, defeating them in Champaign before a home loss and a first-round Big Ten Tournament defeat by Illinois in Chicago.
• Minnesota leads the league in steals per game (7.8), is second in free throw percentage (.742), and ranks fourth in three-pointers made per game (7.2) and assists (14.0).
• With his career night of 18 points and nine rebounds against Wisconsin, junior forward Maurice Walker became the sixth different Gopher to lead the team in scoring during a game this season. He had been averaging 4.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game this season prior to the Jan. 22 win over the Badgers. Walker is the team's leading rebounder (5.7 rpg) over the last seven games, along with a team-high 17 points versus the Boilermakers on Feb. 5.
• DeAndre Mathieu made the game-winning layup on Feb. 8 against Indiana and over the last seven games, is the team's leading scorer (13.9 ppg). Mathieu poured in a team-high 18 points (13 in second half) in the win at Northwestern.
• Two of the Gophers' transfers, guards DeAndre Mathieu and Malik Smith, have played integral roles in the team's success this season. Behind top scorer Andre Hollins, Mathieu and Smith are second and third on the team in scoring in B1G games, averaging 12.3 and 9.8 points per game, respectively. Mathieu leads the Gophers in assists (112) and 3-point shooting (48.1 percent).
