GOPHERS MEN'S HOOPS AT NO. 13 ILLINOIS

FULLER'S FOUR THINGS TO WATCH:

Point guard-center matchup – You could make a strong case that Illinois' inside-outside tandem of Kofi Cockburn and Ayo Dosunmu is the best in college basketball this season. Not just in the Big Ten. But the Gophers have a formidable tandem of their own with Liam Robbins and Marcus Carr. The biggest difference between them is the Illini have a pair who are playing together for the second year. They both declared for the NBA draft and decided to return to lead Brad Underwood's program to championship heights. There have been a couple bumps in the road, but Dosunmu and Cockburn are averaging a combined 38.8 points and 16.5 rebounds per game this season, which included 54 points combined in Saturday's 81-78 loss at Missouri. Dosunmu, a 6-foot-5 junior, scored a career-high 36 points on 13-for-20 shooting. The 7-foot Cockburn had his best offensive game so far this season with 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting. But it wasn't enough against the Tigers. Carr and Robbins are far behind their Illinois counterparts in points per game combined this season at 36.3, including Carr's 23.8 average (third in the Big Ten behind Dosunmu and Iowa's Luka Garza). Robbins is coming off his best game in a Gopher uniform with 27 points, nine rebounds and five blocks in last week's 90-61 win against UMKC. It was his fourth career game with at least 20 points and five blocks. Carr was lights out to open the season averaging 29.7 points on 54 percent shooting through three games, but he's back down to earth in his last three (18 ppg on 40.9 percent shooting). Robbins and Cockburn are both on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award preseason watch list for the nation's top center. Dosunmu is a candidate for the Bob Cousy Award for the top point guard in college hoops. Carr was a preseason Cousy Award snub, but you can bet he'll be on the next list no matter what happens Tuesday night. Last season, Dosunmu (13 points on 4-for-12 shooting) and Carr (seven points on 3-for-12 shooting and four turnovers) didn't play well, but the Illini won 59-51 in Champaign.

Power forward rotation – Senior forward Brandon Johnson suffered a left high-ankle sprain at the end of last week's 85-80 overtime win against Boston College. Johnson, who started three games alongside Robbins, was averaging 6.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in 19.8 minutes this season. The Western Michigan transfer also injured his ankle in preseason practice, but he appeared to be coming into his own with a 15-point performance recently against North Dakota. Johnson was in a walking boot last week, but he practiced on Monday and was day-to-day, according to Pitino. Senior Eric Curry started the first two games this season at power forward. But sophomore Isaiah Ihnen had his first career start in the last game. The 6-9 German native is similar to Johnson with his length and athleticism. Ihnen scored four points and grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds against UMKC. Illinois' four-guard lineup would be a better matchup defensively for Ihnen with his mobility to defend the perimeter.

Rebounding battle – Illinois is the top rebounding team in the Big Ten and ranks eighth nationally with a rebounding margin of plus-16.8 this season. That makes it even more shocking that Missouri won the rebounding battle 35-26 in Sunday's upset. It was the second time this season the Illini was beaten on the boards. Not surprisingly they also lost the other game as well (to Baylor). The Gophers are sixth in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (11.8), but they struggle on the defensive glass. They rank just 12th in the Big Ten in rebounding margin (plus-two). The Illini are 15-20 in Underwood's tenure when they're outrebounded, including 0-2 this year. The Gophers were 1-10 last season when outrebounded, but they beat LMU 67-64 this year on Carr's last-second three-pointer after losing the battle of the boards (18 offensive rebounds given up). Don't bet on that happening tonight.

Foul shooting fancy – The Gophers shot 34-for-44 from the free throw line against UMKC, which was the most made free throws for any Division I team in regulation so far this season (Georgia Tech shot 41-for-59 in a triple-overtime win vs. Georgia Southern). They currently rank No. 1 in the Big Ten and No. 2 nationally in free throws made per game (22.2) this year. It's a drastic improvement from last season when Minnesota ranked 285th nationally at 11.5 makes per game. In the five early losses in November and early December last year, the Gophers shot just 57.8 percent at the foul line, but they also scored only 9.6 points a game on free throws. Getting to the line is a must for Pitino's teams since they are 6-14 when outshot by their opponent the last two seasons. Illinois ranks eighth in the Big Ten and 79th nationally with 15.8 free throws made per contest.

GAME INFO

Time: 6 p.m. CT, Tuesday. Where: State Farm Center. Line: Minnesota 8-point underdog. Series: Illinois leads the series 124-68 after winning the last meeting 59-51 on Jan. 30, 2020 in Champaign. TV: ESPN2. Online/Live video: ESPNWatch. Radio: 100.3 KFAN.

PROJECTED STARTERS

MINNESOTA GOPHERS (6-0)

Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG

G – Marcus Carr 6-2 195 Jr. 23.8

G – Gabe Kalscheur 6-4 200 Jr. 9.3

G – Both Gach 6-6 185 Jr. 15.3

F – Isaiah Ihnen 6-9 220 So. 2.7

C – Liam Robbins 7-0 235 Jr. 12.5

Key reserves– Eric Curry, F-C, 6-9, Sr., 4.2 ppg; Tre' Williams, G, 6-5, So., 3.4 ppg; Jamal Mashburn Jr., G, 6-2, Fr., 4.3 ppg; Jarvis Omersa, F-C, 6-6, Jr., 2.0 ppg.

Coach: Richard Pitino 151-122 (9th season overall)

Notable: Curry played his first game since the 2018-19 season in the Nov. 25 season opener, finishing with four points, three rebounds and two assists in 14 minutes. Curry, who started the first two games, bounced back from his second major knee injury after missing last season following a torn right anterior cruciate ligament in preseason practice. The 6-foot-9 Memphis native is the last remaining player from the U's first NCAA tournament team under Pitino in 2017 … Sophomore guard Tre' Williams and freshman guard David Mutaf were sidelined in the opener vs. Green Bay. Williams has played in every game since then, but he suffered a bruised leg in the win against UMKC. Williams, who turns 20 Tuesday, practiced this week and is expected to play at Illinois. Mutaf made his Gophers debut against UMKC and finished with five points in four minutes.

ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLNI (4-2)

Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG

G – Ayo Dosunmu 6-5 200 Jr. 24.8

G – Trent Frazier 6-2 175 Sr. 8.3

G – Adam Miller 6-3 180 Fr. 11.5

G – Da'Monte Williams 6-3 215 Sr. 6.8

F – Kofi Cockburn 7-0 285 So. 14.0

Key reserves – Giorgi Bezhanishvili, F-C, 6-9, Jr., 6.8 ppg; Andre Curbelo, G, 6-1, Fr., 11.0 ppg; Jacob Grandison, G-F, 6-6, Jr., 2.0 ppg; Brandon Lieb, C, 7-0, Fr., 2.0 ppg.

Coach: Brad Underwood 160-78 (8th season)

Notable: The Illini were ranked as high as No. 5 nationally this year, the highest since they finished national runner-up in 2005. Their first loss was to No. 2 Baylor 82-69 in the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 3. Their biggest win was 83-68 last week at then-No. 9 Duke … Illinois is ranked 10th in the nation in offensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com … Senior guard Trent Frazier loves playing against the Gophers, averaging a team-best 16.8 points in four career games, which includes 30 points at Minnesota in 2019.

Fuller's score prediction (Picks record 5-1): Illinois 79, Gophers 71.