8 p.m. Wednesday at Illinois • BTN, 100.3-FM
Illini still winless in Big Ten play
Preview: The Gophers (13-3, 3-2 in the Big Ten) aim for their second consecutive conference road victory of the season against the Illini (4-12, 0-5) in Champaign. In its last Big Ten road game Jan. 3, Minnesota upset then-No. 22 Wisconsin 59-52 for the team's first win in Madison since 2009. … The Illini are one of two winless teams in Big Ten play along with Penn State (0-6), but their five-game losing streak overall is the longest in the conference. Four of those losses were by single digits, including 68-66 at Northwestern. Illinois' last victory was Dec. 15 against East Tennessee State, 73-55 at home.
Players to watch: Gophers junior guard Amir Coffey leads the Big Ten in scoring in league play with 23.4 points per game on 52.1 percent shooting from the field and 72.9 percent foul shooting. Coffey had 29 points on 10-for-14 shooting in Saturday's victory against Rutgers. … Illinois freshman guard Ayo Dosunmu is averaging 20.5 points in his past four games, which included 23 on 10-for-16 shooting to go with seven rebounds in a 79-69 loss last Thursday against No. 2 Michigan.
Numbers: Illinois and Minnesota will meet twice in a span of 14 days, with a rematch Jan. 30 at Williams Arena.
MARCUS FULLER
