Gophers men’s basketball can’t keep up with No. 13 Illinois in 77-67 loss

After a couple of near-misses at home, the Gophers men’s basketball team had a tough test back on the road against one of the Big Ten’s better teams.

The Gophers stayed close for about three-quarters of the game, but No. 13 Illinois pulled away in the final 11 minutes for a 77-67 victory on Saturday, Jan. 17 in Champaign, Ill.

The victory was the seventh in a row for Illinois (15-3, 6-1 Big Ten), which improved to 9-1 at the State Farm Center this season. The Gophers (10-8, 3-4) lost their third in a row, following an overtime loss to Southern California on Jan. 9 and a loss at the buzzer to Wisconsin on Jan. 13.

Illinois led 54-53 with 10:52 remaining before putting together a 13-2 run to go up 66-55 with 7:54 to play.

The Gophers used a 7-0 run to pull within 66-62, but Illinois responded by scoring the next eight points to go ahead 74-62 with 3:24 left. The Gophers got within seven with two minutes to go but couldn’t get any closer.

“I thought the guys battled,” Gophers coach Niko Medved told KTLK radio after the game. “They had a really good mind-set at both ends. They fought really hard. We gave ourselves a chance, but couldn’t drill enough shots or get enough defensive rebounds.”

Zvonimir Ivisic scored a season-high 18 points and Keaton Wagler scored 17 to lead Illinois. Ivisic, who started his college career at Kentucky and was at Arkansas last year, had nine rebounds as the Illini outrebounded the Gophers 42-31.

Crocker-Johnson opened the game with back-to-back three-point field goals to give the Gophers a 6-0 lead 68 seconds into the game.

After Illinois used an 8-0 run to take an 8-6 lead, Crocker-Johnson made another field goal and three-pointer before Tyson’s field goal gave the Gophers a 13-11 lead.

Illinois took a 24-20 lead before Isaac Asuma and Crocker-Johnson converted back-to-back three-pointers to give the Gophers a 26-24 lead. Crocker-Johnson converted a traditional three-point play and Kai Shinholster hit a three-point shot to put the Gophers up 32-26.

With Crocker-Johnson on the bench after picking up his second foul with 3:12 remaining, the Illini closed the half with an 8-2 run to forge a 34-34 tie at halftime.

BOXSCORE: No. 13 Illinois 77, Gophers 67

Crocker-Johnson, who had a season-high five three-pointers, and Tyson each had eight rebounds to lead the Gophers in that department. Langston Reynolds had 11 points and Isaac Asuma contributed nine points and seven rebounds.

“[Crocker-Johnson] was really, really good,” Medved said. “He played aggressive and got us going with confidence. He was terrific and battled.”