Illinois @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 16, 2019 ) Minnesota 68, Illinois 95

Both Illinois and Minnesota knocked off ranked opponents their last time out and will try to make it two wins in a row when the Fighting Illini visit the Golden Gophers for a Big Ten clash Wednesday night. Minnesota bounced back from a painful two-point loss at No. 5 Michigan by knocking off No. 25 Iowa 92-87 on Sunday.

"It was pretty good for us to see that we can play like that," senior forward Jordan Murphy told reporters after a 23-point, 11-rebound, six-assist effort against the Hawkeyes. "We're really hard to guard, and we were passing the ball very well. Hopefully we just keep carrying that effort on." The victory provided a nice boost for the Gophers' postseason resume but they can ill afford another loss to the Illini, who pounded Minnesota 95-68 in the first meeting Jan. 16. That was the first conference win for Illinois and its second came Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York, where the team put forth a dominant second half en route to a 78-67 win over No. 24 Maryland. "That was a great character win for our basketball team," coach Brad Underwood told reporters. "Yeah, we executed - we made some shots - but to me it's a lot more about perseverance and showing up and competing. We did that today and we were fortunate to beat a very good basketball team."

TV: 9 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT ILLINOIS (6-14, 2-7 Big Ten): Guard Ayo Dosunmu was the lone starter to score in double figures in the win over Maryland as he finished with 20 points to bump his team-leading average to 14.2. Fellow freshman Tevian Jones had a total of 28 points through his first 11 collegiate games before erupting for 18 in Saturday's win, burying 4-of-9 from 3-point range. Dosunmu scored 23 and freshman forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili - who ranks third on the team in scoring (11.2) and first in rebounding (5.1) - had 20 points and eight boards in the earlier win over the Gophers.

ABOUT MINNESOTA (15-5, 5-4): Junior forward Amir Coffey also scored 23 points in the win over Iowa and he paces the Gophers in that category with 15.8 per game. Murphy entered Tuesday fourth nationally with 12 rebounds per contest and he has a total of 43 over his last three outings. Coffey and Murphy are two of Minnesota's five double-digit scorers, a pack that includes freshman guard Gabe Kalscheur (10.2), who scored 19 points Sunday.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Illini hit 8-of-16 from 3-point range in the first meeting while holding the Gophers to 3-of-14 from long range.

2. Sophomore G Trent Frazier is second on Illinois in scoring (13.9), but he's averaging 9.7 over his last three games while shooting 10-for-35 from the floor.

3. The last five meetings have been decided by an average of 18.4 points.

PREDICTION: Minnesota 85, Illinois 78