Fighting Illini Fall To Minnesota, 86-76

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Sophomore guard poured in a season high 30 points but the Fighting Illini fell to Minnesota, 86-75, Wednesday night at Williams Arena in frigid Minneapolis.

The Golden Gophers overcame a slow start on a night when the temperature at game time was minus-19 Fahrenheit, with a forecast low of minus-30 overnight.

Frazier led Illinois (6-15, 2-8) with 30 points on 10-for-14 shooting, including 5-of-9 from 3-point range. Andres Feliz scored 11 and Tevian Jones added 10 for the Illini, who led by as many as five points early in the second half.

After the Illini took a 47-42 lead early in the second half, Minnesota surged ahead with a 13-1 run that included two Gabe Kalscheur 3-pointers. Illinois went almost five minutes without a field goal before Feliz hit a 3 to cut Minnesota's lead to 55-51 with 12 minutes to play.

But the Gophers weren't done. Amir Coffey hit a 3-pointer to jumpstart a 12-0 run that he capped with a traditional 3-point play, giving Minnesota a 69-53 lead with just over eight minutes left.

The Illini earned their first Big Ten win of the season on Jan. 16 in a 95-68 blowout of the Gophers. Illinois still leads the overall series against Minnesota 123-68.

Minnesota took its first lead on Isaiah Washington's driving layup with eight minutes to play in the half, but the Illini immediately responded with a 7-2 run to go back up 28-25.

Jordan Murphy put Minnesota back on top with back-to-back dunks, but Frazier scored Illinois' last eight points of the half, including a long three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Illini a 39-37 lead at the break. This was the ninth of their 15 losses in which they held a lead in the second half.

Coffey led a balanced Minnesota attack with 18 points and six assists. Murphy had 16 points and 10 rebounds as five players scored in double figures for the Gophers (16-5, 6-4 Big Ten).

UP NEXT: Illinois returns home for three straight games at State Farm Center starting with Nebraska on Saturday, Feb. 2. The Fighting Illini also host Michigan State on Tuesday, Feb. 5 and Rutgers on Saturday, Feb. 9.

ILLINOIS POSTGAME NOTES

TEAM NOTES

• Illinois had only nine turnovers for the second straight game (9 vs. Maryland 1/26/19), the lowest total this season. Illinois is averaging only 9.3 turnovers per game in the last three games (10 vs. Wisconsin before the Maryland game). Minnesota only had nine turnovers, the lowest forced by the Illini this season (previous low was 13 by Iowa State and Mississippi Valley State).

• Illinois leads the all-time series against Minnesota, 123-68.

• Illinois has won 12 of its last 17 games at Williams Arena dating back to 2000, but has lost two straight.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Sophomore guard Trent Frazier scored 30 points on 10-of-14 shooting, the second-highest scoring game of his career (32 vs. Wisconsin 2/8/18). It was Frazier's fourth 20+-point game of the season and his first in a Big Ten game in 2018-19 (29 vs. Gonzaga, 25 vs. ETSU, 28 vs. Missouri). Frazier scored 20+ five times last season, including three times against Big Ten teams.

• Frazier scored 12 straight Illinois points from in a span of 2:56 from 1:59 left in the first half to 19:03 left in the second half.

• Junior Andres Feliz scored 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting, his second straight double-digit scoring game (15 vs. Maryland 1/26/2019) and third in the last five games. Feliz was 1-of-2 shooting from three-point range, his first three-pointer in Big Ten play.

• Freshman guard Tevian Jones scored 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting, his second straight game scoring in double figures. Jones scored a season-high 18 points against Maryland 1/26/2019.