The Gophers men's basketball team's victory in Champaign six years ago started an eight-game win streak in the Big Ten. That secured a fourth-place league finish and eventual NCAA tournament bid.
Minnesota's program hasn't won at Illinois since that season, a stretch that continued Monday night with a 78-69 loss.
Second-year Gophers coach Ben Johnson was a U assistant on the 2016-17 team that made a 14-win improvement from the previous year. He's preached to his current squad how the current struggles could be a learning experience for a major turnaround next year.
But it's been hard for the Gophers to think about the future with losses piling up. Jamison Battle's season-high 31 points weren't enough to keep the losing streak from extending to 10 consecutive games at State Farm Center.
The Gophers (7-18, 1-14 Big Ten) saw Battle score 22 points in the second half on 8-for-15 shooting. Dawson Garcia also had 18 points in his second game back from a lengthy absence because of a foot injury, but a two-man show couldn't complete the comeback.
"It's always good when he can see the ball go in," Johnson said about Battle in the postgame radio broadcast. "I thought he took pretty good shots. Guys found him. He was aggressive when he needed to be but did it all within the offense, which was good."
The Illini (18-9, 9-7) played without their leading scorer Terrence Shannon Jr. because of a concussion. But Matthew Mayer's 22 points led five players in double figures for Illinois, which is in a five-way tie for fourth in the Big Ten.
"Minnesota played great," Illinois coach Brad Underwood told local media. "I thought we got off to a great start. If you use the word trap game — this was probably one."
There was another injury scare for Garcia on Monday. He grabbed his right ankle after falling awkwardly with 15 minutes left in the second half. But the U's leading scorer and rebounder checked back into the game after a few minutes.
Garcia's return last Saturday vs. Penn State was a welcomed sight for Johnson. Battle looked like his high-scoring self from last year, but that hasn't changed the downward spiral. The Gophers' losing streak is the program's longest since 2015-16 when they lost 14 consecutive games under Richard Pitino, including starting Big Ten play 0-13 and finishing 2-16.
Entering Monday, the Gophers were losing Big Ten games by an average of nearly 14 points. They trailed by 12 points in the first half but used a 15-6 run to cut it to 32-29 after a jumper from Garcia with 1:18 left. Illinois led only 35-29 at halftime.
The lack of consistent guard play has been a big blow to the Gophers staying competitive in the Big Ten. Starting guard Ta'Lon Cooper and Jaden Henley, both scoreless in the first half, combined for nine points in the game. Meanwhile, Illinois freshman Jayden Epps opened the second half with eight of his 17 points to energize the home crowd and quickly grow the lead to a 14-point margin.
Battle, who had a career-high 39 points last season at Maryland, entered the night held under double figures for three consecutive games for the first time in his career. But his emergence Monday helped the Gophers continue to fight back. A 16-point deficit midway through the second half shrunk to 64-55 after Battle's three free throws with 4:38 to play.
A tough sequence came next when R.J. Melendez nailed a three and the Gophers' bench was also called for a technical foul. Less than a minute later, Mayer's dunk made it a 70-55 game with 3:01 remaining.
Two of Battle's four threes came in the final 1:14 in the game. The damage had been done. Illinois shot 54% in the second half, including 7-for-15 from three.
"I thought guys were resilient," Johnson said. "A couple times we could've broke, and we didn't. So, that was a positive."
The rescheduled COVID-19 game Monday at Illinois was the first of three consecutive road games for the Gophers, who will try to regroup at Maryland on Wednesday.
The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.
