Gophers senior guard Nate Mason will return to the starting lineup in Wednesday's Big Ten home game against Illinois.

Mason missed Saturday's 65-55 win against Harvard with an ankle injury. But the All-Big Ten point guard went through pregame warmups Wednesday with the team and looked much more comfortable moving and cutting on his left ankle.

Illinois' ball-pressure defense would've been even tougher on the Gophers without their veteran floor leader on the court. The Illini rank first in the Big Ten and sixth nationally in turnovers forced per game (19.2).

Gophers coach Richard Pitino said the Illini "deny everything" and don't allow opponents to run their offense.

"Their big thing is no ball reversals," Pitino said Tuesday. "They're really, really physical. They're tough. Well coached. Well-schooled. They take you out of what you do and force you to play one-on-one."

Pitino said earlier this week that junior guard Dupree McBrayer will definitely play Wednesday against Illinois. McBrayer had 15 points against Harvard Saturday in his return from a two-game absence with a lower left leg injury.

Mason and McBrayer haven't been in the lineup together since a Dec. 11 wini against Drake. McBrayer missed both the Oral Roberts and Florida Atlantic games.

"He's the leader, he's the head of the horse," McBrayer said after Harvard. "He's what makes us go, runs the offense. It was kind of weird having him out."

Mason missed his first game Saturday since the 2015-16 season when he sat out against Harvard. Freshman point guard Isaiah Washington, who has two career starts, replaced Mason and had nine points on 4-for-17 shooting and a career-best 13 rebounds.Mason, who ranks second on the team in scoring (15.5) and first in assists (4.1), rolled his left ankle when he was bumped going for a steal early in the second half of a 95-60 win Dec. 23 against Florida Atlantic. He finished the game with a team-high 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting from three-point range in 21 minutes.