University of Minnesota Athletics
Thursday, January 30
Urbana-Champaign, IL
6:30 PM
University of Minnesota
at
Illinois
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Center
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Gophers Wrap Up January at No. 19 Illinois Thursday
1/29/2020 9:44:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: FS1 – Jeff Levering (Play-by-Play); Stephen Bardo (Analyst);Â
Tip Time: 6:31 p.m. CT
Radio: Learfield/KFAN 100.3 FM – Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play);Â
Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM 380
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: 182nd Meeting (66-115)*
Series (Away): 87th Meeting (20-66)*
Current Streak: W-1
Richard Pitino vs. Illinois: 4-4
Minnesota vs. Big Ten: 766-839*
Richard Pitino vs. Big Ten: 49-78
* - excludes vacated games
STARTING FIVE
• The Minnesota men's basketball team closes out the month of January with its second straight top-25 foe, traveling to 19th-ranked Illinois on Thursday in the two teams' only meeting this season. Minnesota has won three of the last four against the Illini, including a 68-59 win in Champaign three seasons ago. Â
• The Gophers are playing their ninth game in the month of January, with their first bye weekend looming. The schedule eases up, however, with just three games in the first 16 days of February.
• A week ago, Marcus Carr's last-second heroics helped lift the Gophers to a season sweep of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Minnesota won in Columbus for the first time since 2005, which also marked the last time that the Maroon and Gold swept the Scarlet and Grey during the regular season. It also was the first regular-season sweep by the Gophers since doing so against Penn State in 2014.
• Minnesota has been tested early and often, playing one of the nation's toughest schedules. Through the games of Jan. 28, the Gophers' schedule ranks as the second toughest in NCAA Division I according to KenPom.com.
• The Gophers rank highly among the nation's college basketball teams in several categories. As of Jan. 29, Minnesota is 30th in blocked shots per game (B1G: 3rd), and 41st in assists per game (B1G: 3rd). Daniel Oturu is eighth in rebounds per game (B1G: 1st), 22nd in the country in blocks (B1G: 2nd), and 30th in field goal percentage (B1G: 2nd). Oturu's 11 double-doubles rank 11th in the country and second in the Big Ten. Marcus Carr is eighth in the country in assists per game (B1G: 2nd) and leads the Big Ten in minutes per game (NCAA: 19th). Oturu is also the Big Ten's second leading scorer, trailing Iowa's Luka Garza (23.1 ppg). Gabe Kalscheur leads the Big Ten in total 3-pointers made and treys per game.
SCOUTING THE ILLINI
• Illinois welcomes the Gophers holding the title of Big Ten leader, tied with Michigan State at 7-2 in the conference entering Wednesday. The Illini are the hottest team in the Big Ten, having won six straight games including a last-second thriller at Michigan on Saturday, 64-62.
• Three U of I players lead the offense, with Ayo Dosunmu (16.2), Kofi Cockburn (14.5) and Andres Feliz (10.5) each chipping in double-digits. Cockburn, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the week, is nearly averaging a double-double as he leads the Illini with 9.4 rebounds per game.
• Illinois is one of the nation's top rebounding teams, ranking third in rebound margin (+9.8) and leading the Big Ten in that category. They are also 19th in the country and second in the conference in rebounds per game (40.5).
UP NEXT
• The Gophers are idle this weekend before returning to action at home on Wednesday, hosting rival Wisconsin.
• Tip off is scheduled for 8 p.m. with BTN and KFAN 100.3 FM carrying the action live from Williams Arena.
TV: FS1 – Jeff Levering (Play-by-Play); Stephen Bardo (Analyst);Â
Tip Time: 6:31 p.m. CT
Radio: Learfield/KFAN 100.3 FM – Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play);Â
Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM 380
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: 182nd Meeting (66-115)*
Series (Away): 87th Meeting (20-66)*
Current Streak: W-1
Richard Pitino vs. Illinois: 4-4
Minnesota vs. Big Ten: 766-839*
Richard Pitino vs. Big Ten: 49-78
* - excludes vacated games
STARTING FIVE
• The Minnesota men's basketball team closes out the month of January with its second straight top-25 foe, traveling to 19th-ranked Illinois on Thursday in the two teams' only meeting this season. Minnesota has won three of the last four against the Illini, including a 68-59 win in Champaign three seasons ago. Â
• The Gophers are playing their ninth game in the month of January, with their first bye weekend looming. The schedule eases up, however, with just three games in the first 16 days of February.
• A week ago, Marcus Carr's last-second heroics helped lift the Gophers to a season sweep of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Minnesota won in Columbus for the first time since 2005, which also marked the last time that the Maroon and Gold swept the Scarlet and Grey during the regular season. It also was the first regular-season sweep by the Gophers since doing so against Penn State in 2014.
• Minnesota has been tested early and often, playing one of the nation's toughest schedules. Through the games of Jan. 28, the Gophers' schedule ranks as the second toughest in NCAA Division I according to KenPom.com.
• The Gophers rank highly among the nation's college basketball teams in several categories. As of Jan. 29, Minnesota is 30th in blocked shots per game (B1G: 3rd), and 41st in assists per game (B1G: 3rd). Daniel Oturu is eighth in rebounds per game (B1G: 1st), 22nd in the country in blocks (B1G: 2nd), and 30th in field goal percentage (B1G: 2nd). Oturu's 11 double-doubles rank 11th in the country and second in the Big Ten. Marcus Carr is eighth in the country in assists per game (B1G: 2nd) and leads the Big Ten in minutes per game (NCAA: 19th). Oturu is also the Big Ten's second leading scorer, trailing Iowa's Luka Garza (23.1 ppg). Gabe Kalscheur leads the Big Ten in total 3-pointers made and treys per game.
SCOUTING THE ILLINI
• Illinois welcomes the Gophers holding the title of Big Ten leader, tied with Michigan State at 7-2 in the conference entering Wednesday. The Illini are the hottest team in the Big Ten, having won six straight games including a last-second thriller at Michigan on Saturday, 64-62.
• Three U of I players lead the offense, with Ayo Dosunmu (16.2), Kofi Cockburn (14.5) and Andres Feliz (10.5) each chipping in double-digits. Cockburn, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the week, is nearly averaging a double-double as he leads the Illini with 9.4 rebounds per game.
• Illinois is one of the nation's top rebounding teams, ranking third in rebound margin (+9.8) and leading the Big Ten in that category. They are also 19th in the country and second in the conference in rebounds per game (40.5).
UP NEXT
• The Gophers are idle this weekend before returning to action at home on Wednesday, hosting rival Wisconsin.
• Tip off is scheduled for 8 p.m. with BTN and KFAN 100.3 FM carrying the action live from Williams Arena.
Highlights: Gophers 57, Purdue 85
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Gopher Round Table: Men's Basketball
Wednesday, December 10
Cinematic Recap: Gophers-Indiana
Saturday, December 06
Highlights: Gophers 73, Indiana 64
Wednesday, December 03