Winning on the road in the Big Ten isn't easy. Winning at Illinois has been impossible for 30 years for the Gophers. Winning anywhere without an offense, especially at #20 Illinois where the Gophers haven't won since 1978 (officially) was probably too much to ask. They put up a fight though, and if effort counts for anything, the Gophers have finally realized how to play in a must win game.
Earlier in the season the Gophers were easily intimidated on the road. The Michigan State game was decided the second the team bus pulled inside the city limits of East Lansing. The opposite was the case as Minnesota found (or more accurately, rediscovered) that attacking the basket and pounding the ball inside creates the best chance to score for a team with dubious jump shooting skills. Coupled with a pressing defense, the Gophers threatened to blow Illinois right off the court.
Damian Johnson led the Gophers on a 9-2 game opening run with multiple dunks and lay-ups. Unlike previous games, the dunks stayed down and lay-ups didn't slip out. Illinois quickly answered with a run of their own, and took a 19-17 lead. Johnson continued his stellar play, and seemingly scored every time he touched the ball, scoring 14 of his teams 21 points, but with the game tied at 21, the Gophers seemingly forgot about the gangly forward playing the game of his life, stopped getting the ball inside, and scored only twenty points over the final twenty five minutes of the 52-41 loss.
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