The Illinois student section held up pseudo newspapers with the headline “whack a Gopher” before tipoff against Minnesota on Monday in Champaign, Ill.
The U really started taking hits like a mole in an arcade game in the second half at State Farm Center and fell 78-69 to the Illini.
Overall, the Gophers keep sustaining blows. Minnesota (7-18, 1-14 Big Ten) has lost 10 straight games, which is now the most since the 2015-16 team dropped 14 straight games.
But the Gophers kept sticking their necks out Monday, and in a season like this, it’s one spot head coach Ben Johnson pointed to postgame. “Guys were resilient,” Johnson said on KFXN-FM. “A couple of times we could have really broke and they didn’t, so that was a positive.”
The Gophers trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half, but brought down the deficit to three with a minute left and 35-29 at the half. Minnesota also kept it close in its Jan. 16 matchup before the Illini ran away for a 78-60 win at Williams Arena.
The second half was — again — when Minnesota fell further behind against the Illini. Jayden Epps had an 8-0 run against Minnesota to start the second half, and the Illini built multiple 16-point leads.
As the Gophers had trouble scoring in the first half, Big Ten Network commentator Connor Onion said, at one point, they “were struggling to score since the last media timeout.” Well, close U observers know the plight for points for this team goes back to November — the season’s start.
On Monday, Minnesota managed only three scorers in the first half, with Dawson Garcia leading with 12. Jamison Battle started slow but finished the opening 20 minutes with nine points. Josh Ola-Joseph added eight.
No guards scored for Minnesota in the first half, including Ta’Lon Cooper, Jaden Henley, Braeden Carrington and Taurus Samuels. They finished with nine combined points on 3-of-15 shooting.
Battle finished with 31 points, a game high and a personal season high. He shot 11 for 20, including 4 for 9 from deep.
Illini guard Terrance Shannon Jr., the team’s leading scorer at 17 points per game, missed his second straight contest with a concussion. The Illini (18-9, 9-7) were led Matthew Mayer’s 22 points.
Illinois big man Dain Dainja from Brooklyn Park got the best of Minnesota post Pharrel Payne from Park of Cottage Grove. Dainja had 12 points and four rebounds. Payne had posted a career-high 18 points against the Nittany Lions, but he did not even attempt a shot and grabbed only three boards.
Speaking of whacking, both Payne and Battle dealt with foul trouble with four apiece for the last 11 minutes of the game. Battle and assistant coach Marcus Jenkins were given technical fouls for supposed commentary around officials.
Garcia returned from a five-game absence due to bone bruise in his right foot to lead Minnesota with 23 points and five turnovers in a 76-69 loss to Penn State on Saturday. He suffered what appeared to be a rolled right ankle with 15 minutes left in Monday’s game, but checked back in a few minutes later.
With the Penn State loss Saturday, the Gophers are playing four games in six days after the Feb. 7 game against Illinois was postponed for COVID-19 concerns within the U program. Minnesota has two more road games at Maryland on Wednesday and at Nebraska on Saturday.
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February 21, 2023 at 11:12AM
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Men’s basketball: Gophers lose 10th straight game, 78-69 to Illinois - St. Paul Pioneer Press
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