The locker room atmosphere for the Gophers men's basketball team after the Ohio State and Illinois games were completely opposite ends of the emotional spectrum.
Four takeaways from Gophers men's basketball's loss vs. Illinois
Minnesota's fifth Big Ten loss came for several reasons, including Illinois' dominance in the paint during the second-half Gophers' collapse
January 18, 2023 at 12:58AM
The first Big Ten victory last week against the Buckeyes was followed with a water bottle shower with Ben Johnson and his players celebrating their hard work finally being rewarded.
Instead of that feel-good moment carrying over this week, the Gophers were embarrassed about how poorly they played in the second half of Monday's 78-60 loss against Illinois at Williams Arena.
"That's a good team and I don't think that's any secret," Johnson said after the Gophers dropped to 1-5 in the Big Ten. "They're arguably the most talented team in the league. But we got to do our job and our part better, especially when you're playing well. To have that lull in the second half that's what is disappointing."
Here are four takeaways from the Gophers' loss Monday against the Illini at home:
Second-half collapse
Dawson Garcia and Jamison Battle got the Gophers off to a fast start in the second half to take a one-point lead early, but Illinois responded by outscoring their opponent 37-11 in the next 14 1/2 minutes.
Seven different Illini players scored during the stretch where they completely blew the game wide open to the point where the Gophers trailed 72-47 with 4:32 left in the second half.
It was the seventh time in nine losses this season the Gophers were down at least 18 points in the second half. They trailed by 19 points vs. DePaul, 22 points vs. UNLV in the SoCal Challenge, 20 points at Virginia Tech, 21 points at Purdue, 32 vs. Michigan, and 18 vs. Mississippi State.
None of those blowouts happened in the new year until Monday when Illinois put in its rarely-used bench players with a 25-point advantage on the road.
Garcia and Ta'Lon Cooper combined for 18 of the team's 28 second-half points on 6-for-10 shooting, but the rest of the team shot an abysmal 2-for-19, including 0-for-5 from three. Meanwhile, nine Illinois players combined to shoot 57% in the second half.
Monster Mayer
It was hard to believe Baylor transfer Matthew Mayer was the same player who opened the season scoring double figures just once in his first eight games with Illinois.
The 6-9, 225-pound Mayer looked the part of an NBA prospect with 19 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes. He also shot 8-for-14 from the field, including 3-for-6 from three-point range.
Garcia and Mayer are similar as big forwards who can stretch the floor and take opposing big men off the dribble. They both showed off those skills Monday night, but Mayer made some timely plays.
Mayer had two blocks early in the game to intimidate the Gophers on drives to the basket, but he also nailed back-to-back three-pointers late in the first half for Illinois to take a halftime lead.
Rebounding dominance
The Gophers had shown improvement rebounding the ball in their previous three games. They entered Monday ranked 12th in the Big Ten in rebounding margin (minus-2.1) overall and 10th in league games (minus-3.6).
After outrebounding Wisconsin by 16 in the three-point loss on Jan. 3, the Gophers were beaten on the boards in three straight games, including against Nebraska and Ohio State. But the Illini dominated the Gophers on the glass like no other team had so far this season.
Purdue had a plus-20 rebounding edge vs. the Gophers in a December matchup, but Illinois had a 50-29 advantage, which included 14 offensive rebounds.
Freshmen impact
No Big Ten team had four freshmen playing at least 17 minutes other than the Gophers entering Monday's game, but they were still outplayed by their Illinois counterparts.
The Illini with Sincere Harris, Jayden Epps, and Ty Rodgers outscored Minnesota's Pharrel Payne, Joshua Ola-Joseph, Braeden Carrington and Jaden Henley 25-19.
They were close in total points, but Illinois' three freshmen were much, much more efficient shooting 12-for-21 from the field. In comparison, Minnesota's talented young group struggled, going 4-for-20 on field goals. Most of their points came at the free throw line (10-for-17).
The best sign for the Gophers on a bad night at the foul line (15-for-25) was Payne shooting 4-for-6 since he was shooting 41% (19-for-46) at the charity stripe coming into the night.
Projected Gophers starting center Frank Mitchell will miss Wednesday night's opener against Oral Roberts because of a shoulder injury and will be reevaluated next week.
