National Basketball Association
Illinois 85, Minnesota 52
When: 4:30 PM ET, Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials:
# Chris Beaver, # D.J. Carstensen, # Larry Scirotto
Attendance:
N/A
By The Sports Xchange
Freshman forward Michael Finke made a season-high five 3-pointers while scoring 17 points as Illinois rolled to an 85-52 victory over short-handed Minnesota on Wednesday in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.
Junior guard Kendrick Nunn scored 15 points and junior guard Malcolm Hill added 14 for the Fighting Illini (14-18), who tied a season best with 14 3-point baskets. Freshman guard Jalen Coleman-Lands added 13 points for 12th-seeded Illinois, which faces fifth-seeded Iowa in Thursday's second round.
Junior forward Charles Buggs had 12 points for the 13th-seeded Golden Gophers (8-23), who finished the season with 18 losses in 20 games. Freshman guard Ahmad Gilbert scored 11 points for Minnesota, which suited up just five scholarship players and eight overall.
The Golden Gophers played without sophomore guard Nate Mason and freshmen guards Kevin Dorsey and Dupree McBrayer, who were suspended last week related to an explicit sex tape being placed on social-media sites. Mason was the team's leading scorer at 13.8 points per game and Minnesota also played without senior forward Joey King (11.6), who fractured his right foot during a loss to Wisconsin on March 2.
The Illini led comfortably most of the way and built a 16-point halftime advantage. The Golden Gophers trailed by 15 shortly before the midway point of the second half when Illinois rattled off the next 12 points to take a 65-38 lead on a basket by senior guard Khalid Lewis with 8:02 to play.
Finke's fifth 3-pointer pushed the lead to 32 points with 5:12 remaining. The lead topped out at 37 points.
In the first half, Illinois used an 18-6 run to open up a 12-point lead midway through the half. A 3-pointer by junior guard Jaylon Tate with five seconds left allowed the Illini to take a 38-22 lead into the break.
Top Game Performances
| Minnesota |
|
Illinois |
|
Charles Buggs 12 |
Scoring |
Michael Finke 17 |
|
Jordan Murphy 3 |
Assists |
Jaylon Tate 4 |
|
Jordan Murphy 9 |
Rebounds |
Malcolm Hill 6 |
|
Jordan Murphy 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Malcolm Hill 3 |
|
Ahmad Gilbert 3 |
Steals |
Alex Austin 3 |
|
Ahmad Gilbert 1 |
Blocks |
N/A |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Minnesota
|
52 |
39.2 |
4-12 |
8-12 |
7 |
26 |
1 |
5 |
15 |
| Illinois
|
85 |
55.2 |
14-26 |
7-9 |
19 |
33 |
0 |
11 |
9 |
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