MINNEAPOLIS — Will Riley had 27 points, nine rebounds and seven assists off the bench and Kasparas Jakučionis scored 24 points to help No. 23 Illinois get back on track with a 95-74 victory over Minnesota on Saturday night.
Tomislav Ivišić added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Illini (16-8, 8-6 Big Ten), who lost four of their previous six games.
Femi Odukale had a season-high 22 points and Lu’Cye Patterson added 19 for the Gophers (12-12, 4-9), who got only 12 points on 4-for-14 shooting from the Big Ten’s second-leading scorer, Dawson Garcia.
Illnesses and injuries factored in the Illini’s recent struggles. Despite 7-foot-1 center Ivišić playing through an ankle injury suffered during a loss at Rutgers on Thursday, they were closer to full strength — and it showed. The nation’s leading rebounding team had a 50-26 advantage in points in the paint.
Illinois has won eight straight in the series by an average margin of 18 points and is 38-8 against Minnesota in this century.
Takeaways
Illinois: Jakučionis, the freshman standout from Lithuania, matched his career high in scoring to fuel the ninth game of 90-plus points for the Illini this season. They are averaging 85 points per game, the highest mark since the 1988-89 team that reached the NCAA Final Four.
Minnesota: Despite hitting their first three 3-pointers for the fast start they wanted, the Gophers had nothing else to lean on when their outside shots cooled off.
Key moment
After Odukale’s 3-pointer cut Minnesota’s deficit to seven, Ivisic backed Patterson into the paint and used an 11-inch height advantage for a drop-step layup with 1:45 left before halftime.
Key stat
The Illini are 33-25 in Big Ten road games over the last six seasons, the best record in the conference.
Up next
Illinois plays host to UCLA on Tuesday. Minnesota plays at USC on Saturday.
Originally Published:
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