CHICAGO — The Golden Gophers have been bounced from Big 10 basketball tournament.
Brandon Paul’s basket at the buzzer lifted Illinois to a 51-49 victory over Minnesota Thursday in a first round matchup.
Paul led all scorers with 25 points.
Austin Hollins had 16 points for Minnesota, but he also had the crucial turnover when he stepped out of bounds with just seconds left and the game tied at 49.
Illinois now takes on No. 3 Indiana, the top seed in the Big 10 tournament, Friday at 11 am CT.
Minnesota is still expected to be included in the NCAA tournament, even though the team has three consecutive losses and is just 3-7 in their last 10 games. The tournament brackets will be announced this Sunday.
