Gophers men's basketball gameday

7 p.m. at Illinois • BTN, 1500-AM

Minnesota (8-19; 2-13): The Gophers have consecutive wins following an upset over No. 6 Maryland with an 83-61 win vs. Rutgers at home Tuesday. The 22 points marked the largest margin of victory since Dec. 27, 2014, when the Gophers topped UNC-Wilmington by 26. Five players finished in double digits against Rutgers, including freshman Jordan Murphy, whose 19 points and 14 rebounds accounted for his second consecutive double-double and eighth this season. Freshman Dupree McBrayer scored a career-high 14 points to go with seven assists. The 6-4 guard is averaging 5.9 points on the season but has put up an average of 11.5 in the last four. Minnesota went 14-for-24 from the free-throw line (58.3) percent after four consecutive games posting 73.3 percent or better. Minnesota has not won a true road game against any team since Feb. 26 of last season, 96-90 in OT at Michigan State. The Gophers have not managed three consecutive wins in league play since Jan. 31 through Feb. 12 of last season — the only such stretch in coach Richard Pitino's tenure at Minnesota.

Illinois (12-16; 4-11): The Illini are coming off a 74-47 loss at home against Indiana despite leading by a point at halftime. Leading scorers Kendrick Nunn and Malcolm Hill combined for just 13 points. Freshman guard Jalen Coleman-Lands, however, finished with 21 points. Illinois is last in the Big Ten in field goal-percentage defense (46.0), rebounds per game (32.1), offensive rebounds per game (7.8) and blocks per game (1.7). The Illini rank second-to-last in scoring defense (74.9 ppg) and three-point percentage defense (37.3).

AMELIA RAYNO