Wednesday was a bad night for the Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball team.
The Gophers were beaten by Illinois Wednesday night 62-49 at Williams Arena. The difference in the game was how the two teams shot the three.
Illinois knocked down 12 three’s and finished with three players in double figures. While the Gophers hit just 4 of 25 from behind the arc.
#Gophers shot a season-low 16% from 3-point range tonight.
— Tyler Mason (@tylermason21) February 20, 2014
Kendrick Nunn had 19 points to lead the way. Nnanna Egwu finished with 14 and Tracy Adams scored 11 points and dished out six assists for Illinois.
The Gophers (17-10; 6-8 Big Ten) started the game on a 7-0 run and built their early lead up to 11, at 14-3. But Illinois was not going away that easy.
Despite losing 10 of their last 11 games, Illinois knocked down six of their first nine from the three-point line and shot their way back into the game, cutting the Gopher lead to three at the half.
Andre Hollins had 15 points to lead the Gophers in the loss, while Mo Walker and Austin Hollins each finished with 10.
The loss deals a serious blow to the Gophers tournament hopes. The team is considered “on the bubble,” but only one of their remaining four games comes against a team not ranked in the top 25.
It doesn’t get easier for the Gophers who have back-to-back games against ranked opponents starting on Saturday at Ohio State.
