John Groce and his team will live to fight another day. On Wednesday afternoon, No. 12 seed Illinois (14-18, 5-13) defeated No. 13 seed Minnesota (8-23, 2-16) 85-52 to advance to the second round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament. Scoring was very balanced amongst the Illini starters, but Michael Finke led the way with 17 points on 6-10 shooting.
The Golden Gophers, well, tried their best today. Rick Pitino's squad was down to only a handful of active players thanks to some injuries and suspensions, so we were predictably treated to some unique plays during the game.