March 10--INDIANAPOLIS -- From a narrow win against North Dakota State for the first victory of the season to a second-half rally against Minnesota for the last regular-season win, Illinois hasn't experienced many start-to-finish victories.
Wins of any kind have been far between as the Illini have their fewest since 1998-99.
So a coast-to-coast 85-52 rout of Minnesota in Wednesday's first round of the Big Ten tournament was a welcome change. It was the Illini's largest margin of victory against a conference opponent since 2008.
The Gophers' depleted roster contributed to the lopsided score, but 12th-seeded Illinois (14-18) will try to harness any positivity from the victory as it heads into Thursday's second-round game against No. 5 seed Iowa.
"We wanted to start over with a fresh mindset," said junior guard Malcolm Hill, who scored 14 points. "We wanted to play 40 minutes. We did a good job of staying focused the whole game (and) having that attack mindset on offense and defense."
The victory completed a three-game season sweep of the Gophers (8-23), who were without four key players: injured forward Joey King (foot) and three suspended guards. Minnesota had only eight players, two of whom played only six minutes.
"So many reasons why it was difficult," Minnesota coach Richard Pitino said. "From an offensive standpoint, not really having any guards. From a defensive standpoint of not really having any depth. Being scared to foul. Being tired. There were so many things that were going to be a recipe for a difficult night."
Illinois is likely to have a much different experience against a stacked Iowa team at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Hawkeyes (21-9) beat Illinois 77-65 on Feb. 7 in Champaign.
"It's nice momentum to carry us to the second game," Hill said. "We're happy we got this one, but as soon as we leave this (interview) room, we are going to put our mindset on Iowa and get ready to attack, have a game plan for them. That's going to be a big time for us."
Redshirt freshman forward Michael Finke shot his way out of a slump, connecting on 5 of 7 3-pointers and leading the Illini with 17 points. Junior guard Kendrick Nunn added 15 points, while freshman guard Jalen Coleman-Lands scored 13 with three 3-pointers.
The Illini made 14 of 26 (53.8 percent) from 3-point range.
Coach John Groce said the team entered the game with the plan to play "ridiculously hard." Consider that accomplished as the Illini held Minnesota to 39.2 percent shooting and forced 15 turnovers.
"We threw the first punch," Nunn said. "We came out aggressive. We got a good lead and then our guys took control from there."
sryan@tribpub.com
