Illinois went into Thursday night’s game at Williams Arena leading the Big Ten with a 47.9 shooting percentage.
The Illini headed home after their worst offensive game with their worst loss of the season, a 59-36 setback to Minnesota.
“We’ve always had somebody make shots,” Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. “Tonight we didn’t.”
Illinois shot only 29.4 (15 of 51), its lowest mark of the season. The point total of 36 was the lowest for Illinois since a 54-34 loss to Purdue on Jan. 30, 1985.
As a result, the longest winning streak Illinois ever has had over one opponent is over.
Playing stifling defense, Minnesota snapped the Illini’s 20-game streak against the Gophers as Lawrence Westbrook scored 15 points. It was Minnesota’s first victory over the Illini since a 75-63 decision here Feb. 3. 1999.
Of more importance, the loss dropped the 19th-ranked Illini (17-4, 5-3) into a tie for fourth place in the Big Ten with Penn State while the Gophers (18-3, 6-3) completed the first half of their Big Ten schedule in third place.
Dominique Keller came off the bench to lead the Illini with nine points, which was part of the problem. The starting lineup scored only 18 points, led by Trent Meacham’s seven.
“We couldn’t get anything going all night,” Meacham said. “We missed some shots, but that’s them for the most part. They played a great game offensively and defensively. They really took it to us on defense.”
The Gophers stuck with a man-to-man defense and didn’t switch much.
“They made it tough on us,” Meacham said.
Illinois trailed 22-16 at halftime.
“You have to have somebody make plays,” Weber said. “If one guy makes plays in the first half, it’s tied.”
As expected, the game was dominated by aggressive, shot-clock draining defense by both teams. Most shots were contested; the open ones were rushed.
“We couldn’t hit shots,” Keller said. “We let our offense dictate the game instead of letting our defense do it.
“We knew [a bad shooting night] could happen, but we had so many games in a row that were good, we didn’t think it would happen. Obviously, it was a wake-up call.”
The Gophers shot 48.1 in the second half, won the rebounding battle 44-29 and outscored the Illini 19-5 on points off offensive rebounds.
“I’m just embarrassed we came out here and did what we did,” Keller said.
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tabannon@tribune.com
