Remember When?: 1997 Illinois 96, No. 7 Minnesota 90

As Illinois welcomes Minnesota to State Farm Center, we take a moment to remember that Tuesday night on Jan. 14, 1997, almost 22 years to the day when unranked Illinois triumphed over No. 7 Minnesota, 96-90, in Champaign.

The 1996-97 Minnesota Golden Gophers team was a once-in-a-generation type of team — equivalent in some sense (at least to Minnesota fans) to the 2004-05 Illinois Fighting Illini team that reached the Final Four.

1996-97 Illinois Fighting Illini

This was a transition year for Illinois. Lon Kruger was in his first year as head coach of the Fighting Illini, replacing the legendary Lou Henson, who had been at Illinois 21 years. Henson left Kruger a stacked roster that helped ease…