After a dreadful first-half performance against Minnesota on Sunday night, Illinois coach John Groce left the game in the hands of his upperclassmen.
By leaving the room.
The Illini took control of a depleted Gophers squad, charging back from a 12-point deficit for an 84-71 victory at the State Farm Center in Illinois’ regular-season home finale.
“We’ve always been solution based,” Groce said he told the players before giving them time to themselves at the half. “You guys figure it out. I want them to take ownership. I thought they took a step in the right direction. I could tell they had a different look in their eyes.”
After falling behind 11-0 to start the game and trailing 40-32 at halftime, the Illini surged to an 18-point second-half lead.
After bemoaning a lack of leadership from upperclassmen, Groce saw more effort in that area from juniors Kendrick Nunn and Malcolm Hill. After a 1-for-5 shooting performance in the first half, Hill shot 5 of 7 after halftime to finish with 22 points. He also had seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Nunn led the way with 25 points. Freshman Jalen Coleman-Lands scored 12 of his 18 points before halftime, connecting on 5 of 6 3-pointers for the game.
“We spoke as a team in the locker room we agreed on some things we were doing wrong,” Nunn said.
The positive vibes didn’t stop there. New Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman spoke to the crowd at halftime and went into the team’s locker room after the game, where he greeted Groce with a bear hug.
The Illini also received an oral commitment from four-star point guard DaMonte Williams, a Peoria native and the son of former Illini star Frank Williams.
Illinois (13-16, 5-11 Big Ten), which had lost four of its last five games, desperately needed a boost.
Illinois plays its final two regular-season games at Maryland and Penn State before the Big Ten tournament tips off with the Illini likely slotted into the first round as a low seed.
While the victory was a resounding one for Illinois, Minnesota was not playing with a full roster.
The Gophers were without three guards on Sunday night as starters Nate Mason and Dupree McBrayer and reserve Kevin Dorsey were suspended for an unspecified violation of team rules. The Gophers played all but a few seconds of the game with only six players, including a walk-on point guard.
Forward Jordan Murphy led the Gophers (8-20, 2-14) with 22 points but was held to five points after halftime.
The Illini, who shot 73.9 percent in the second half, broke out of a slump of slow second-half starts. They forced seven turnovers during a six-minute span and went on a 16-2 run.
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