University of Minnesota Athletics
Game Preview: Minnesota vs. Illinois
1/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| Minnesota (12-8, 1-6) vs. Illinois (13-7, 3-4) | |
| Date / Time | Saturday, January 24 | 1:15 p.m. CT |
| Location | Williams Arena - Minneapolis, Minn. |
| Tickets | Click Here |
| TV/Live Video | BTN | BTN2Go |
| Radio | 1500 ESPN | Listen Online |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Illinois |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Illinois |
| Social Media | @GopherMBB | Facebook |
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, January 24, 2015
Time: 1:15 p.m. CT
Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
Arena: Williams Arena (14,625)
TV: BTN - Cory Provus (Play-by-Play); Stephen Bardo (Analyst)
Radio: Learfield/1500 ESPN Twin Cities - Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
Satellite Radio: XM 196/Sirius 132
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: 174th Meeting (62-111)
Series (Home): 86th Meeting (42-43)
Current Streak: L-3
Richard Pitino vs. Illinois: 0-1
Minnesota vs. Big Ten: 727-778
Richard Pitino vs. Big Ten: 10-17
GAME DAY TID-BITS
• Minnesota hosts Illinois on Saturday afternoon, starting a stretch of three of the next four games at home.
• On Saturday at halftime, a banner honoring Gopher great Randy Breuer (1979-82) will be unveiled from the rafters as his jersey is retired.
• The Gophers earned their first Big Ten win last Saturday at home, defeating Rutgers 89-80 but fell at Nebraska, 52-49 on Tuesday in Lincoln.
• Illinois is coming off a 66-57 home victory over Purdue Wednesday night.
• Minnesota has dropped five of its five conference losses by five points or fewer. Prior to this year, Minnesota had lost five or more Big Ten games by that margin just twice in the last 30 seasons (2010-11, 1984-85).
• Senior Andre Hollins broke out for 31 points in the win over the Scarlet Knights, tying a career-high with seven 3-pointers. It is his second-highest career scoring game (41 vs. Memphis) and the highest in B1G play. He followed it up Wednesday with his second career double-double (21 pts., 11 reb.). He is the only Gopher with over 1,500 career points and 300 career assists.
• Minnesota finished its non-conference schedule with an 11-2 record, including a perfect 9-0 mark at home. It is the fourth straight season the Gophers posted a perfect home non-conference record.
• As of Jan. 22, the Gophers are second nationally in steals per game (10.0) and eighth in assists (17.5), ranking first and second among Big Ten schools in those categories, respectively. Freshman Nate Mason is tied for 15th nationally in steals (2.4)
• Mason leads the B1G in steals while senior DeAndre Mathieu is third in assists (5.3). Senior Maurice Walker is fourth in field goal shooting (.596). Mason's 44.6-percent 3-point shooting ranks fifth, with Mathieu and junior Carlos Morris in second among B1G players in steals at 2.2.
• In Big Ten play, Hollins is averaging a team high 14.0 points per game (B1G: 14th) while Walker is averaging a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game, placing him tied for fourth in the conference.
