Minnesota defeated Illinois 77-67 at Williams Arena. With the win the Gophers are 1-0 in conference play* and 13 and 3 on the season. Jordan Murphy recorded his 16th straight double double.
Minnesota jumped out to a comfortable lead thanks to a combination of good offense and horrendous Illinois shooting. The Gophers looked engaged on the defensive end for the first time in at least a month. Part of that was due to a return to a mostly healthy starting five. In what is certainly a broken record at this point, Minnesota’s starting five is very good and can play with any team in the country.