Illini now

First Look at Illinois Basketball's Game 18 Opponent: Minnesota Golden Gophers

The Illini will go for their seventh straight win Saturday at Champaign's State Farm Center in a matchup with a gritty Minnesota squad
Pranav Hegde|
Jan 13, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Langston Reynolds (6) celebrates during the second half against the Wisconsin Badgers at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Jan 13, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Langston Reynolds (6) celebrates during the second half against the Wisconsin Badgers at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

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Illinois Fighting IlliniMinnesota Golden Gophers

The Illini are rolling right now. Winners of six straight, No. 13 Illinois (14-3, 5-1 Big Ten) will enter a matchup with Minnesota (10-7, 3-3) on Saturday (11 a.m. CT, FS1) playing its most complete basketball of the season. The offense has found rhythm, the defense has tightened up, and the Illini suddenly look like a team nobody wants to see on the schedule.

A big reason for that surge has been the emergence of Tomislav Ivisic, who delivered a breakout performance in the frontcourt in Wednesday's win over Northwestern. Minnesota presents a different kind of challenge, but with the Illini playing this well, they enter the weekend firmly in control of their own narrative.

Minnesota at a glance

The  Golden Gophers are now under the watch of first-year head coach Niko Medved, who took over for Ben Johnson (though not the Ben Johnson currently saving Chicago Bears fans from existential dread). Medved inherited a roster that was picked to finish 16th in the Big Ten Conference preseason poll – essentially the league’s way of saying see you next year. Instead, Minnesota has been scrappy, organized and far more annoying than advertised, which in Big Ten terms is a high compliment.

After a sluggish start, the Gophers quietly found their footing, winning six of seven games and picking up home wins over Iowa and Indiana along the way. The recent two-game skid doesn’t tell the full story either – an overtime loss to USC by one point, followed by a buzzer-beating heartbreaker against Wisconsin at home. In other words, Minnesota is living proof that a loss and a bad performance are not the same thing. This is a team that refuses to go away, plays until the final horn and has already shown it can turn home court into a trap for anyone not fully locked in.

The Golden Gophers on the court

Key players

Minnesota’s offense starts and, more often than not, ends with senior guard Cade Tyson, who transferred in after a disappointing season at North Carolina and has completely reinvented himself in Minneapolis. Tyson is averaging 21.1 points per game and fits the textbook definition of a three-level scorer. He’s an absolute sniper from beyond the arc, is comfortable creating his own look and has a knack for getting shots off even when defenders think they’ve done everything right.

Another important piece for the Gophers is junior forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, a transfer from Colorado State who has taken a clear step forward this season. Crocker-Johnson is averaging 13.1 points per game and is coming off a 20-point outing against Wisconsin, providing Minnesota with a reliable secondary scoring option. He gives the Gophers some much-needed balance next to Tyson and is exactly the type of complementary piece that can punish defenses that overcommit to stopping the headliner.

Offense

The Golden Gophers keep things pretty simple on the offensive end, leaning into an approach built around ball screens, steady ball movement and letting their best players read and react. There’s nothing overly complicated here – Minnesota runs plenty of dribble handoffs on both sides of the floor, flows naturally from action to action, and trusts its guards and wings to make the right decision once the defense commits. It’s a no-frills system, but it’s effective, especially when the ball doesn’t stick.

That spacing becomes even more dangerous when the Gophers are intentional about attacking mismatches. Against Wisconsin, Minnesota did a strong job stretching the floor and clearing out space to let Crocker-Johnson go to work on the block. With shooters spaced around him and help defenders forced to make tough choices, Crocker-Johnson was able to operate comfortably inside. If Minnesota can consistently marry its ball movement with that kind of spacing, the offense becomes much harder to load up against – even without drawing up anything fancy.

Defense

On the other end of the floor, the Gophers lean heavily on man-to-man defense, though they will occasionally mix in some zone looks to change the rhythm. The primary objective is clear: pack the paint, protect the rim and dare opponents to beat them from the outside. That approach has kept Minnesota competitive, but it does come with a tradeoff. When the ball moves quickly or shooters relocate well, the Gophers can be vulnerable to giving up clean looks from beyond the arc.

Minnesota has also struggled at times to guard player movement, particularly against slip screens and actions that force defenders to make quick reads. Getting caught ball-watching can open up driving lanes or easy finishes, though that may not be tested heavily in this matchup. Overall, it’s a solid, well-organized defensive unit that plays hard and stays connected, but the absence of a true rim protector caps its ceiling.

Illinois vs. Minnesota matchup

The Illini will look to keep the good vibes rolling at home, and on paper this sets up as a favorable spot to do exactly that. Minnesota is solid, well-coached and competitive, but this version of Illinois is playing with confidence and momentum that’s hard to ignore. With the Illini continuing to clean things up on both ends of the floor, this feels like a game in which steady pressure eventually turns into separation.

Size should be a major factor as well. The Golden Gophers top out at a 6-foot-9 forward in their regular rotation, which puts them at a significant disadvantage against an Illinois frontcourt that has made a habit of controlling the glass. Extra possessions, second-chance points and wearing teams down inside has been a recurring theme, and there’s little reason to expect that to change here. If Illinois plays to its strengths and avoids letting Minnesota hang around, this is a matchup that could get away from the Gophers in a hurry.

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Pranav Hegde
PRANAV HEGDE

Primarily covers Illinois football, basketball and golf, with an emphasis on news, analysis and features. Hegde, an electrical engineering student at Illinois with an affinity for sports writing, has been writing for On SI since April 2025. He can be followed and reached on Instagram @pranavhegde__.

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