After a morbid first half in which the Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-20, 2-14 Big Ten), without a single scholarship guard active, flirted with a double-digit advantage, the Illinois Fighting Illini (13-16, 5-11) unleashed a dominant flurry in the second half to win in blowout fashion, 84-71.
The Gophers started with a flurry of 3-pointers to take a 9-0 lead, and from there, the Illini were held essentially at arm's length for the rest of the half, never gaining traction and going to break down 40-32.
Then halftime happened.
Whether it was Josh Whitman's address to the crowd at State Farm Center in which he posed that Illinois could become the country's top athletic program, or a slickly timed tweet from Peoria Manual prospect Da'Monte Williams in which he announced his commitment to the alma mater of his father — former Illini great Frank Williams — something gave the Illini a new energy coming out of the break.